Minnesota wildcat sanctuary takes in seized Tiger King cats

A Minnesota animal sanctuary has taken in several of the nearly 70 big cats seized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last week from an Oklahoma zoo that was featured in the popular Netflix series “Tiger King.” 

The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minn., announced in a Facebook post Monday that it had accepted “several big cats including tigers, lions and hybrid big cats,” that the DOJ had acquired as part of a court-approved seizure of Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe’s Tiger King park in Thackerville, Okla.

The seizure was part of an agreement to resolve a DOJ complaint against the couple accusing them of repeated violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by illegally taking, possessing and transporting protected animals, as well as the Animal Welfare Act by “exhibiting animals without a license to the public and placing the animals’ health in serious danger.”

The Minnesota sanctuary said all of the 68 big cats “have been accepted by accredited sanctuaries in the U.S. including The Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota, which will house and care for several tigers, lions and hybrid big cats while the U.S. Department of Justice seeks forfeiture of the animals.” 

The sanctuary added that it had offered to transport and permanently house any of the smaller cats that may still be awaiting placement. 

Tammy Thies, founder and executive director of The Wildcat Sanctuary, in a statement included in Monday’s Facebook post called the seizure of the cats “historic and important.” 

“I am thankful for the coordinated effort of several reputable sanctuaries and federal agencies to ensure these cats were safely removed,” Thies wrote, adding that the ESA “is a federal law designed to protect endangered animals and I, along with the entire accredited sanctuary community, am very relieved that these big cats will receive the care and nutrition they desperately need and deserve.”

A North Carolina big cat sanctuary, Carolina Tiger Rescue, also announced on Facebook that it will temporarily care for four of the big cats that had been taken from Tiger King Park. 

Pam Fulk, executive director of the Pittsboro sanctuary, said in the statement, “We are glad to see the Department of Justice working hard to better the lives of big cats in captivity, beginning with Tiger King Park.” 

“We thank everyone who was involved in this operation,” Fulk added. 

The DOJ upon announcing the seizure last week said that the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service had conducted three inspections of Tiger King Park since December, during which the Lowes “received citations for failing to provide the animals with adequate or timely veterinary care, appropriate nutrition, and shelter that protects them from inclement weather and is of sufficient size to allow them to engage in normal behavior.” 

The Lowes has opened Tiger King Park after closing its one in Wynnewood, Okla., following a USDA license suspension. 

The Wynnewood park and its former co-owner Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as “Joe Exotic,” were featured in the “Tiger King” docuseries.