USDA Revokes ‘Wildlife in Need’ Exhibitor Tim Stark’s License

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an order to permanently revoke the Animal Welfare Act license of notorious animal exhibitor Tim Stark and ordered him and his facility, Wildlife in Need in Indiana, to pay a total of $340,000 in civil penalties. The order found more than 120 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act at the facility, including for instructing patrons to hit big-cat cubs during so-called “Tiger Baby Playtime” events, swinging and tossing monkeys by their tails during public encounters, and bludgeoning a leopard to death with a baseball bat. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office also filed a civil complaint against Stark for violations relating to his failure to operate the roadside zoo in line with its purported charitable mission, including such cruelty as stomping on a tiger cub during a public event. The complaint is seeking, among other relief, for all of the animals at the facility to be transferred to reputable sanctuaries.