“Tiger King” star Jeff Lowe was ordered to publish medical records and other documents related to the condition of four lions at the Oklahoma Zoo that appear in the popular Netflix documentary series.
A southern Indiana court ruled this week that Lowe has to turn the files over to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights group that has long questioned the conditions of animals at the facility, the Courier-Journal reported Thursday.
“This ruling tells Jeff Lowe that he can no longer evade the authority of the court and needs to clarify the ways in which these lions are suffering in his custody,” PETA attorney Brittany Peet said in a statement. “PETA hopes to review these records and have these animals transferred to accredited sanctuaries.”
in a report on insider.com Earlier this week, whistleblower Will Mayo posted photos that he said were taken at the Wynnewood Great Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma that appear in the series and said he found the animals in “abandoned” condition.
“It looked like the covered patio of an abandoned house,” Mayo told the store. “Neither path was particularly clear. I was like, ‘Is there something even in this cage? Oh yes, there is a black bear in the corner.”
Lowe and his former business partner Tim Stark were embroiled in a seven-year legal battle with PETA, which sued the two alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act, Fox News reported.
This week’s court ruling is not Lowe’s only legal tangle: He was sued by the state of Oklahoma last month for more than $ 50,000 in unpaid back taxes.
The “Tiger King” series tells the story of Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, and his obsession with big cats.
Maldonado-Passage is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in a murder-for-hire plot targeting animal rights activist Carole Baskin, CEO of the Big Cat Rescue group.
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