'Tiger King' star Doc Antle gets prison time for trafficking endangered animals
Doc Antle, a Myrtle Beach Safari operator known for his appearance in Netflix's "Tiger King," has been sentenced for wildlife trafficking and money laundering.
Bhagavan "Doc" Antle pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in federal prison and three years of probation, according to a Department of Justice press release on Tuesday, July 8. Antle, 64, also must pay a $55,000 fine and forfeit three chimpanzees and nearly $200,000 to the government.
Prosecutors say Antle laundered over $500,000 in cash tied to an operation smuggling Mexican immigrants across the U.S. border. Officials described the operation as "unlawful and unethical," saying Antle and others falsified records, funneled transactions through nonprofits and purchased and sold newborn endangered species, including baby chimpanzees, cheetahs, lions and tigers, "all while promoting themselves as conservationists," Adam Gustafson, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said.
Two men involved in the operation, Jason Clay and Andrew Sawyer, have also been sentenced. One woman, Shaylynn Kolwyck-Peterson, pleaded guilty in June for illegally selling Antle a chimpanzee for $200,000.
The Myrtle Beach exotic wildlife safari still appears to be open, but only by reservation.
Antle's safari was featured in the hit 2020 Netflix series and a brief 2021 spinoff, "Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story."
"Tiger King" also made a star of Joe Exotic, born Joseph Maldonado. He was similarly convicted of crimes involving his animals, as well as hiring hitmen to kill his chief critic, Carole Baskin, and is serving a 21-year prison sentence.