Feds want `Tiger King' star Jeff Lowe's big cats
MUSK O GEE—The U.S. Justice Department is going after “Tiger King” star Jeff Lowe's big cats on grounds he and his wife have a long record of “inadequate and inhumane treatment of animals.”
Their attorney called the civil complaint ridiculous.
“The Lowe shave never been anything but caring and attentive to their animals, and the Lowes are not afraid to fight the U.S. Government in court,” attorney Daniel Card said.
Government attorneys are asking in the civil complaint for a federal judge to order Lowe and his wife Lauren to relinquish possession of the big cats and other animals protected by the Endangered Species Act to the United States.
They also are asking District Judge John F. Heil III for an “order permitting the United States immediate access to investigate and inspect the so- called ` Tiger King Park' and determine the condition of many animals believed in peril thereon.”
The Justice Department filed the 47-page civil complaint Thursday and issued a news release announcing the legal action.
“The Lowes' animals have suffered from and continue to suffer from easily preventable or treatable conditions, which in some cases has caused the untimely death of animals. Indeed, in the last two years, many animals have not been seen and/or treated by a veterinarian at all,” attorneys told the judge.
The Low es also have regularly fed their animals “unwholesome, unpalatable, and/or contaminated” meals of insufficient quantity and nutritive value to maintain good health, the attorneys told the judge.
They have as as many as 200 federally protected animals at the new facility on 33 acres in T hacker ville, according to the complaint. Jeff Lowe has stated publicly that federal inspectors no longer have authority over the new facility because it is in Indian Country, according to the complaint.
The Lowes have advertised that Tiger King Park will open in 2021, according to the complaint. They are accused of unlawfully exhibiting animals there now by giving film crews access to the facility and by
doing “shout out” videos for a fee.
“Lauren Lowe also exhibits animals, including lions and tigers, on the paid subscription online platform `OnlyFans,'” according to the complaint. OnlyFans is a growing social media site known primarily for its adult content.
Jeff Lowe was seen by millions at the start of the pandemic when the true-crime Netflix documentary series, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” became a popculture phenomenon.
The series focused on the life and murder-for-hire trial of big cat breeder Joe Exotic, who operated a private zoo in Wynnewood. Jeff Lowe took over the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in 2016 and he and Joe Exotic became enemies.
Joe Exotic—whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — is serving a 22-year sentence in federal prison for trying to have his chief critic, Carole Baskin, killed and for other crimes. He claims he is innocent and that Jeff Lowe set him up.
Jeff Lowe shutdown the Wynne wood zoo in August and moved the animals in September and early October.
The civil complaint reaffirms the federal government's position that it is illegal for zoos to allow the public to interact directly with tiger cubs and lion cubs. For years, the Greater Wynne wood Exotic Animal Park allowed visitors “play times” with cubs for an extra fee.
“Cubs experience stress caused by being separated from their mothers too early and being forced to interact with the public. Stress in animals may compromise immunity, imp air coronary health, alter brains tructu re and function, impair reproduction, stunt growth, reduce body weight, shorten lifespan, or increase abnormal behaviors.
“Very young cubs ... may respond to over-handling by staying ina helpless, silent state rather than vocalizing or growling,” attorneys told the judge in the complaint.
Inane mailed statement Thursday night, the Lowes' attorney called the civil complaint “yet another example of administrative overreach.”
“The public at large should be outraged by it,” Card said.
The attorney said the complaint is based on an absurd interpretation of the Animal Welfare Act.
“They claim that because the Lowes allow a filming crew on their property to film a follow-up documentary `Tiger King 2,' they are `exhibitors' under the Act and are accordingly ` exhibiting' without a license. Under the government's interpretation, anyone who has ever taken a `selfie' with a tiger or lion at any zoo is an `exhibitor' and, unless they have an exhibitor's license, are in violation of federal law. Obviously, the government's position is ridiculous ,” the attorney said.
The complaint contains both known and new accusations of mistreatment of animals.
One of the new accusations involves the death of an older tiger named Jughead.
The Lowes are accused of failing to maintain safe conditions at Jughead's enclosure at the Wynnewood zoo.
“The tiger Jug head was attacked by tigers from t he neighboring enclosure who either gained access to Jug head' s enclosure or dragged him through the fence to their enclosure. The tiger had puncture wounds and an abscess on his face. He died three days later at the park,” according to the complaint.
Another new accusation involves the death of a female liger, the hybrid offspring of a lion and tiger.
The liger died Oct. 3 from a tranquilizer overdose at the Wynnewood park because the Lowes hired a veterinarian with little or no experience with big cats to assist them in moving animals to Thackerville, according to the complaint.
Jeff Lowe already is facing possible civil penalties in an administrative action commenced in August by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over alleged mistreatment of animals. He gave up his exhibitor's license in August but the federal agency wants to ban him permanently.
The Lowes had to vacate the Wynnewood facilty because a federal judge in Oklahoma City awarded “constructive trust” of the zoo land to Big Cat Rescue, a Florida-based nonprofit organization run by Baskin.
Big Cat Rescue successfully sued Joe Exotic years ago for more than $1 million for trademark infringement and other civil wrongs. Big Cat Rescue was given constructive trust of the zoo land because of those court judgments.