Zookeeper Bhagavan “Doc“ Antle, who was featured in Netflix’s Tiger King docuseries, was found guilty of buying endangered lion cubs.
Antle was convicted on Friday of two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and two felony counts of conspiring to wildlife traffic. Misdemeanor animal cruelty charges filed against two of Antle’s adult daughters, 36-year-old Tilakam “Tilly” Magnolia Watterson and 28-year-old Tawny Antle, were dismissed by a Frederick County Circuit Court judge, the Winchester Star reported.
Prosecutors said that Antle purchased the cubs from a now-closed roadside zoo in Frederick County so he could have them on display at his Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina.
“Virginia’s animal cruelty laws are not taken lightly by my office,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a press release Tuesday. “I’m proud of my Animal Law Unit for their tireless work, and I’m thrilled that the jury not only agreed with us but sent a message that Virginia does not tolerate wildlife animal trafficking.”
In 2019, the attorney general’s animal law unit began its months-long investigation into Antle’s zoo, as well as Wilson’s Wild Animal Park in Winchester, Va.
Antle was indicted the following year after investigators discovered that he and the owner of Wilson’s Wild Animal Park, Keith Wilson, had trafficked the lion cubs between Virginia and South Carolina.
Wilson testified against Antle and admitted his role in the scheme. According to the Page News and Courier, Wilson is charged with nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and 10 felony counts of selling an endangered species. He is expected to plead guilty on Friday, the outlet reports.
Antle came under scrutiny again in June 2022, when the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina charged him with money laundering.
Prosecutors have alleged that he laundered $505,000 in cash with his business associate.
Prosecutors said in a press release that the money was believed to be “the proceeds of an operation to smuggle” undocumented immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Post and Courier reports Antle is currently out on bond on the money laundering charges.
Antle first became well-known when he was featured in Netflix’s hit docuseries Tiger King. At the time, the zoo owner slammed the series as “salacious.”
Later, he participated in Tiger Kingdom: More Than a King, which he hoped would paint a different picture about himself and his animal park.
Antle is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 14