Justice Department Sues Jeffrey Lowe of ‘Tiger King’ Over Treatment of Animals

In June, after a seven-year legal battle, a judge gave the park to Carole Baskin, the animal-rights activist who sparred with exotic tiger keepers in the documentary. Ms. Baskin’s husband, Howard Baskin, said in a statement Friday that they hope that the Justice Department is successful in removing the animals.

“The numerous very serious citations by U.S.D.A., in our opinion, clearly demonstrate that the Lowes should not be allowed to have animals,” he said, referring to the assertions by Department of Agriculture investigators.

In June and July, inspectors from the U.S.D.A.’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said they found some of the animals “in poor health and living in substandard conditions at the Wynnewood facility,” a violation of the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act.

In the complaint the Lowes were also accused of not providing “timely and adequate veterinary care,” causing some of the animals to “suffer from easily treatable conditions.” Some of these cases resulted in “untimely” death, the complaint said.

The inspectors found that the animals had not been provided with a sufficient amount of food, and that they were underweight and suffering from nutritional deficiencies.

Inspectors also said they found big cat carcasses that were partly burned and decomposing, and a broken refrigerator truck with rotting meat, the complaint said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/us/jeffrey-lowe-tiger-king.html