8 big cats get new home after rescue from ‘notorious Tiger King associate,’ refuge says
Eight big cats are adjusting to their new home in Arkansas after being removed from an attraction in Indiana owned by Tim Stark, who was featured on “Tiger King.”
The animals were removed from Wildlife In Need, which reportedly allowed “hands-on interactions,” and were taken to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, the group said in a Facebook post Friday.
Stark, who the refuge called a “notorious ‘Tiger King’ associate,” appeared on the popular Netflix documentary about the “underworld of big cat breeding” that was released in March and quickly became a pop culture obsession.
He’s come under fire for his attraction multiple times.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture revoked his animal exhibitor license this year after it said he violated the Animal Welfare Act more than 100 times between 2012 and 2016, WHAS reported.
During a hearing about a USDA lawsuit against Stark, WHAS reports he said he’s been “harassed” for years by the USDA and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.
“I am not an animal abuser, animal ‘neglecter,” Stark said, according to the outlet. “I have made mistakes.”
In 2017, PETA sued Wildlife In Need, claiming its “Tiger Baby Playtime” events prematurely separated tiger cubs from their mothers and that the cubs “suffered declawing,” the News and Tribune reports. Also this year, a federal judge barred Stark and his wife from allowing cubs to interact with the public.
On Sept. 16, a warrant was issued for Stark’s arrest after he defied a court order that he “tell authorities the location of missing animals” from his property, according to a news release from the Indiana Office of the Attorney General.
As of Sept. 18, Stark was still at large, the release said. Attorney General Curtis Hill and his staff have been working to remove 150 animals from Wildlife In Need, a release says.
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge had been preparing to rescue the animals for months by relocating other animals in the sanctuary and getting cages and staff members ready, it said in the Facebook post.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the refuge took “extra precautions.” The animals were screened for COVID-19 and are quarantining, the post says.
The sanctuary has posted updates on some of the lions and tigers in its care.
“Preliminary reports show that these new family members will be in need of medical care, especially Chief, a 15-year-old lion with visible muscle atrophy,” it wrote on Facebook.
The refuge wrote Tuesday that Chief was doing “much better.”
“He even felt well enough to venture into his new habitat for the first time today,” it said.
