It’s hard to believe that almost six months ago the world made Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness a phenomenon.
The insane world of drug lords, polygamy, cults, money, magic and tigers was something we had never really witnessed before — and Joe Exotic (a.k.a Joe Maldonado-Passage) was a larger-than-life character that needed to be seen to be believed.
A second season is currently in the works, as are multiple TV series and films, and will all be set at The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park — a zoo which was once operated by the now incarcerated Maldonado-Passage.
Unfortunately, if the crews were planning on shooting their projects at the real place, it looks like they’re going to have to find somewhere else as the zoo has now been permanently closed.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, owner (and one of the misfit stars of Tiger King) Jeff Lowe, contacted the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) to voluntarily forfeit his exhibitor’s licence which allowed him to buy and sell animals. The organisation then notified him that they would be suspending his licence for 21 days.
According to Lowe, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) fought against the USDA’s decision, saying that they “continue to make false accusations against me.”
“The very agency that has given my facility five consecutive perfect inspections has now folded to the pressures of PETA,” he said, before adding that the cats will “continue to have excellent care, and consequently will no longer be subject to USDA inspections or PETA spies.”
As there are many Tiger King related projects in the works, Lowe’s other property in Thackerville, Oklahoma, will now serve as the central hub for production.
When Maldonado-Passage was convicted of two counts of murder-for-hire against his nemesis Carole Baskin and 17 wildlife charges relating to the killing of tigers in 2019, Lowe took over the infamous zoo.
In June 2020, in a lawsuit against the Greater Wynnewood Development Group, LLC, Baskin was awarded the zoo and was made the rightful owner.