Netflix has seen a stunning amount of success in its newest documentary, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Social media has gone crazy with constant chatter on the seven-episode first season with many fans wanting to learn more about the wacky personalities seen in the series.
With the show focusing on rival zoos and the mistreatment of animals among other things, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) used their platform to comment on the hit Netflix series. The animal rights organization constructed a blog post that shared details of their fight against the show’s star, Joe Exotic. In it, the company explains how they spent years to help the animals that they said were abused by Exotic, sharing that they helped rescue 39 tigers, three bears, two baboons and two chimpanzees “from the hellhole roadside zoo that he ran.”
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Within the lengthy post, PETA has a section with their official statement on the portrayal done by the streaming service.
“Roadside zoos and other tourist traps that exploit lions, tigers, and other animals are often even worse than Tiger King lets on,” the statement reads. “However, the series does a good job of accurately portraying animal exhibitors—including Joe Exotic, Jeff Lowe of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (G.W. Zoo), Bhagavan ‘Doc’ Antle of Myrtle Beach Safari, and Tim Stark of Wildlife in Need—as exploiters and abusers who would do anything to keep the money coming in.
“Ultimately, Tiger King focuses mostly on the battle between animal rights activist Carole Baskin (the CEO of accredited wildlife sanctuary Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida) and Joe Exotic. The series largely skips over serious issues of animal welfare, including the horrors of cub trafficking and the problems with commercial cub-petting attractions.”
The post goes on to shine a light on some points that weren’t included in the series, as well. One of those is that Joe Exotic was found guilty of 17 counts of wildlife-related federal crimes. These included the killing of five endangered tigers and trafficking endangered animals. They also point out specific scenes in which animal abuse was seen in the documentary.
PETA did note one specific quote from Exotic while he was in prison. In a section entitled, “Final Takeaways,” the post highlights a moment of revelation he had, “Spending time in a jail cell led him to reflect that animals die when they’re held in cages because their souls die.”
All seven episodes of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness can be streamed on Netflix.
