Judge gives zoo property to Joe Exotic's chief critic

Time is running out for Joe Exotic's former zoo in Wynnewood.

A federal judge in Oklahoma City on Monday gave control of the zoo land — 16.4 acres — to a nonprofit organization founded by his chief critic, Carole Baskin.

Zookeeper Jeff Lowe was given 120 days to remove all zoo animals from the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.

Joe Exotic — whose real name is Joseph MaldonadoPassage— is serving a 22-year sentence in federal prison. A jury found him guilty last year of twice trying to have Baskin killed and other crimes.

Her Florida-based organization, Big Cat Rescue, successfully sued him years ago for more than $1 million for trademark infringement and other civil wrongs. He was accused of wanting her murdered because she was actively trying to collect the judgments.

He also was angry because she accused him of exploiting tiger cubs for profit at the zoo he founded in 1999 and on traveling shows, according to testimony at his trial. She had sought to stop him for years.

Their rivalry was a focus of the hit Netflix true-crime documentary series, "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness." The court decision Monday arose from their dispute.

In an 11- page order, U.S. District Judge Scott Palk awarded "constructive trust" of the zoo land, portable buildings and four vehicles to Big Cat Rescue because of fraud.

The judge found that Joe Exotic's mother "acted in concert" with a company, Greater Wynnewood Development Group LLC, and others, to fraudulently transfer the property to keep it from being used to pay off Big Cat Rescue's judgments. The judge voided two "sham" deeds.

Joe Exotic' sm other, Shirley Schreibvogel, and Lowe formed the company in 2016, according to court records.

Joe Exotic has claimed Lowe conned him into turning over ownership of the zoo then framed him to get rid of him for good. Lowe has claimed he actually was gathering evidence against Joe Exotic.

Lowe already had announced he is building a new zoo farther south in Oklahoma. He and his attorney said Monday's decision had been anticipated.

"Please don't worry about our animals," Lowe said in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday. "As you saw on the Netflix documentary, I have been building the greatest tiger park the world has ever seen."

He said the new zoo, Tiger King Park, will open in September in Thackerville and he encouraged the public to come see the animals at the zoo in Wynnewood while it is still open. He also criticized Baskin for continuing her legal efforts after Joe Exotic was imprisoned.

He said it appears "her desire to exact revenge against Joe Exotic trumps the livelihood of the families that came together to save her life."

"Without our efforts, it is well known that Carole would no longer be here," he said.

Big Cat Rescue said Tuesday it stands ready to assist "if the need arises to make other plans to place the animals in new homes."