In June 2023, Bhagavan Antle, known as “Doc Antle” on the Netflix series “Tiger King,” was prosecuted and convicted of two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and two felony counts of conspiring to wildlife traffic.
Antle was sentenced in Frederick County today after a conviction of legally purchasing endangered lion cubs for display and profit at his South Carolina zoo.
“Today concludes a multi-year investigation and prosecution by my office. In Virginia, we uphold the rule of law without exception, whether dealing with violent repeat offenders, big pharma, fraudsters and scammers, or wildlife traffickers. This case sends a clear message that bad actors will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares.
The “Tiger King” star is banned from dealing exotic animals. He is not allowed to work, own, possess, broker, buy, sell, trade, transfer, barter or donate any exotic animals for five years in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The jury’s guilty verdict was upheld by the judge, who sentenced Antle to two years with time suspended for each charge, to run concurrently. Antle is required to pay the maximum fee of $2,500 per conviction, totaling a $10,000 fine.
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Rebecca Barnabi
