Five years after the true crime documentary Tiger King captivated audiences while the world was shut down due to COVID-19, the final legal troubles for one of the stars of the docuseries has been resolved in a courtroom in South Carolina.
Bhagavan “Doc” Antle was sentenced to 12 months in prison for trafficking exotic animals and money laundering after pleading guilty in November 2023.
The Tiger King star is also set to pay a US$55,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release after serving his federal prison sentence.
The sentencing was originally set for June 10, but both parties filed a motion stating that they needed more time to resolve several objections to the pre-sentencing report in the federal animal trafficking case. Lawyers also needed more time to speak to potential witnesses who were out of state.
According to court documents, Antle paid a person to travel to Florida in September 2018 and pay around $35,000 for two young cheetahs. In January 2019, Antle sold two lion cubs to an organization in exchange for $15,000.
The court documents also show that Antle made $10,000 in payments to the Rare Species Fund in exchange for two tigers that were transported from South Carolina to Montana in March 2019.
In May 2020, a young chimpanzee was transported from Florida to Myrtle Beach Safari, where Antle paid $200,000 in cash and cheques for the animal, according to court docs.
Antle also requested that payments for endangered species be made to his non-profit so they could appear as “donations.”
All of the animals are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Three others who pleaded guilty in his investigation received either probation or a four-month prison sentence.
“Wildlife crime is often connected with other criminal activity, including money laundering,” said Edward Grace, the assistant director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement. “This investigation revealed a pattern of illicit wildlife transactions orchestrated by the defendant under the guise of donations and false paperwork.”
“The Service and our partners will continue to hold accountable those involved in wildlife trafficking and other related crimes to ensure the future of all federally protected species,” Grace added.
“The Service will continue to bring to justice individuals who profit from the illegal trafficking of big cats and endangered species.”
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Antle’s sentence is the final true-life chapter of the Tiger King saga. The Netflix series debuted in March 2020 near the peak of COVID-19 restrictions.
The seven-part docuseries followed the life of zoo owner Joe Exotic — whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — and the events that led to his allegedly hiring a hitman in a failed attempt to take out his main rival, Carole Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue in Florida. However, many viewers were focused on whether Baskin was involved in the disappearance of her ex-husband, Don Lewis. Baskin denies the claims and has never been charged.
In the show, Antle was portrayed as a mentor to Exotic, but he previously alleged that the filmmakers lied to him about the type of series he would be participating in.
“Remember, this is not a documentary. This is a salacious, outrageous ride through a television show produced to create drama, to just tie you into some crazy train wreck of a story between the feud of Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic, and the meltdown that ensued between two people who both are far too close to murder themselves, and I think a little bit of madness thrown in on their parts,” Antle told TMX.news.
Maldonado-Passage is serving a 21-year federal prison sentence for trying to hire two different men to kill Baskin.
Antle, who owns a private zoo called Myrtle Beach Safari, appeared in the first season of the docuseries and was the star of the third season.
Antle’s zoo was known for charging hundreds or thousands of dollars to let people pet and hold baby animals such as lions, tigers and monkeys that were so young they were still being bottle-fed. Customers could have photos or videos made. Antle would sometimes ride into tours on an elephant.
Myrtle Beach Safari remains open by reservation only, according to its website. Antle has remained out on bail since his arrest in June 2022.
Federal charges were brought against Antle after the Tiger King series was released.
Prosecutors said that Antle sold or bought cheetahs, lions, tigers and a chimpanzee without the proper paperwork. They also said that in a separate scheme, Antle laundered more than $500,000 that an informant claimed was being used to get people into the U.S. illegally to work.
Investigators said that Antle was used to having large amounts of money that he could move around quickly.
The FBI had been listening to Antle’s phone calls with the informant as he explained a baby chimpanzee could easily cost $200,000.
“I had to get a monkey, but the people won’t take a check. They only take cash. So what do you do?” Antle said, according to a transcript of the phone call in court papers.
Two of Antle’s past employees have already been sentenced for their roles in his alleged schemes.
Meredith Bybee was given a year of probation for selling a chimpanzee, while Andrew “Omar” Sawyer was given two years of probation after prosecutors said he helped Antle launder money.
Jason Clay, a Texas private zoo owner, pleaded guilty to illegally selling a primate and was sentenced to four months in prison, while charges were dropped against California ranch owner Charles Sammut.
Antle was also convicted in 2023 in a Virginia court of four counts of wildlife trafficking over sales of lions and was sentenced to two years of prison, suspended “upon five years of good behaviour.”
An appeals court overturned two of the convictions, ruling that Virginia law bans the sale of endangered species but not their purchase.
Antle was found not guilty of five counts of animal cruelty at that same Virginia trial.
— With files from The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
