'Tiger King' Star Convicted on Multiple Charges
Tiger King star Bhagavan "Doc" Antle has been convicted of wildlife trafficking in Virginia. A jury on Friday found Antle, the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari, guilty of two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and two felony counts of conspiring to wildlife traffic after he illegally purchased lion cubs, Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a news release.
According to The Winchester Star, the jury acquitted Antle of five counts of animal cruelty and Judge Alexander Iden dismissed four additional animal cruelty charges against Antle. Misdemeanor animal cruelty charges filed against two of Antle's adult daughters, 36-year-old Tilakam "Tilly" Magnolia Watterson and 28-year-old Tawny Antle, were also dismissed by the judge. Sentencing for Antle on the wildlife trafficking convictions is scheduled for Sept. 14.
The conviction comes after the attorney general's animal law unit began its investigation into Antle's zoo, as well as Wilson's Wild Animal Park in Winchester, Virginia, in 2019. When Antle and Keith Wilson, the park's former owner, began doing business in 2015, it was still legal to buy and sell lions. However, after lions were designated as an endangered species in December 2015, lions could only be traded between zoos and wildlife preserves that were part of an established breeding program and had permits. According to prosecutor Michelle Welch, there were three illegal cub exchanges in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Antle was indicted in 2020, an Wilson, who testified against Antle and admitted his role in the scheme, is charged with nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and 10 felony counts of selling an endangered species. He is expected to plead guilty on Friday.
"Virginia's animal cruelty laws are not taken lightly by my office," Miyares said. "I'm proud of my Animal Law Unit for their tireless work, and I'm thrilled that the jury not only agreed with us but sent a message that Virginia does not tolerate wildlife animal trafficking."
This is not the end of Antle's legal troubles. The U.S. Attorney's Office in South Carolina charged Antle with money laundering in June 2022, alleging that he laundered $505,000 in cash, believed to be "the proceeds of an operation to smuggle" undocumented immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, according to prosecutors, with his business associate. Antle is currently out on bond on the money laundering charges.
Antle, who owns the Myrtle Beach Safari, in Netflix's March 2020-released documentary sensation Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. He also appeared in the streamer's follow-up docuseries Tiger Kingdom: More Than a King.