Tiger King star Jeff Lowe is in trouble. Again. Federal agents raided the reality star’s facility for the second time in two weeks, KTNV Las Vegas reported.
Source: KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas/YouTube
Over 60 big cats were seized in the raid that happened on May 17 in the morning. Agents used a search and seizure warrant as they did earlier in the month to take animals from Lowe’s care. Lowe is not licensed anymore to exhibit big cats.
Lowe told TMZ that 40-50 federal agents came to his zoo and told him to stay inside. Authorities used both the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act in the warrant from a federal judge in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
“Today’s warrant and seizure punctuates a long series of federal actions to shut down an unethical roadside zoo operator,” said Drew Edmondson, former Oklahoma Attorney General and co-chair of the National Law Enforcement Council for Animal Wellness Action. “Joe Exotic and Jeff Lowe ran slipshod operations and the chickens have come home to roost.”
“Big cats” that are privately owned, like those previously owned by Tiger King star Joe Exotic, and cared for by Carole Baskin, are in danger across the United States. According to Animal Welfare Institute, “Unscrupulous facilities profit from cub petting or photo opportunities, which fuels a rampant and vicious cycle of breeding and dumping cubs once they are 12 weeks old. Having outgrown their usefulness, these cubs are funneled into the exotic pet trade, sold to another disreputable exhibitor, or end up in the black market trade for wildlife parts.”
Roadside zoos keep exotic animals in small cages without proper food or medical care simply to amuse visitors. The practice of bottle-feeding tiger cubs is a big attraction for these zoos yet it endangers the health and safety of the cub and the visitor. Often, zoos drug the animals with dangerous sedatives just to charge visitors more for photo ops.
The growing public disapproval of big cat zoos has prompted renewed calls to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act.
Take action to protect big cats here! You can also sign this petition to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act!
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