From PETA re ‘Doc’ Antle Sentenced in Federal Court Today

For Immediate Release:
July 8, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

 Tiger King villain and Myrtle Beach Safari operator Bhagavan “Doc” Antle was sentenced today in federal court to one year and one day in prison and a $55,000 fine, plus three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking of illegally taken wildlife, including animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. This sentence is in addition to Antle’s prior Virginia state court convictions that resulted in a $10,000 fine, a two-year suspended sentence, five years of probation, and a five-year ban on working with, trading, possessing, or engaging in other activities with non-native exotic wildlife in Virginia.

Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet, who attended today’s sentencing and is available for interviews:

Antle will finally learn how it feels to be stripped of freedom, locked in a cage, and have every moment of every day controlled. But unlike Antle, the animals he sentenced to life at his sleazy roadside zoo have committed no crimes, and PETA will work to shut down Myrtle Beach Safari and ensure that the exploited big cats, chimpanzees, and other endangered animals still imprisoned there are released to reputable facilities where they will get the care they so desperately need and deserve.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act, which bans private ownership of big cats and prohibits public contact with them, has passed since Antle’s illegal transactions took place, and in May, the bipartisan Captive Primate Safety Act—which would ban the private ownership, breeding, and commercial trade of monkeys and apes—was reintroduced in Congress. Antle and his family and associates have long held captive chimpanzees and exploited them for public contact, the entertainment industry, and on social media.      

More details about Antle’s exploitation of animals are available here.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.