CHARLESTON, S.C. — “Tiger King” star Bhagavan “Doc” Antle is going to prison — but not for as long as prosecutors wanted — after admitting he broke federal law buying endangered animals to keep at his zoo in South Carolina.
Antle was sentenced to one year and one day behind bars and fined $55,000 Tuesday, nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to trafficking in exotic animals and money laundering. He in November 2023.
It's likely the end to the legal dramas that surrounded "Tiger King," the Netflix true crime documentary that captivated a country shut down by COVID-19.
The star, Joe Exotic, is serving a 21-year for trying to hire two different men to kill the other star, Carole Baskin. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was a collector and private zookeeper from Oklahoma and Baskin, runs Big Cat Rescue in Florida.
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Antle appeared in the first season with Exotic and Baskin and was the star of the show's third season.
Joseph Maldonado answers a question Aug. 28, 2013, during an interview at the zoo he runs in Wynnewood, Okla.
Prosecutors say Antle bought animals on the black market
Antle's crimes were unrelated. He laundered money used in a human smuggling scheme because he needed large amounts of cash quickly to buy animals like chimpanzees, lions, tigers, cheetahs and other creatures, prosecutor Patrick Duggan said. These animals are illegal to sell because they are endangered, and their high prices could encourage poachers to steal them from the wild, Duggan explained.
“He was knowingly and illegally trading them as part of a black market that drives another black market of poaching and smuggling,” Duggan said in court Tuesday.
Antle's lawyers requested a sentence of just probation or home confinement, saying their client needed to care for the 150 exotic animals that consume 1,000 pounds of meat a day at his Myrtle Beach Safari. They said many of the animals only respond to Antle.
Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, a wild animal trainer who was featured in the popular Netflix series "Tiger King."
Friends and family ask for mercy for Antle
About 25 friends and family packed a federal courtroom in Charleston. Several told Judge Joseph Dawson III that Antle was generous and caring. They said he raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight poaching and preserve wild habitats for tigers, lions and chimpanzees.
The judge was swayed. Federal guidelines called for about two years in prison, to which prosecutors agreed. Dawson said that, though Antle broke federal law, all the evidence pointed to him caring for animals.
Antle apologized at the end of his sentencing hearing for causing problems for his life's work.
“I made a mistake, I did stupid things,” he said, adding, “I hope I'll be able to pull it back together for everybody.”
Bhagavan “Doc” Antle from the Netflix "Tiger King" documentary, front left, reaches out to a supporter Tuesday after he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison on federal animal trafficking and money laundering charges in Charleston, S.C.
Antle needed animals so Myrtle Beach Safari could offer experiences
Antle’s Myrtle Beach Safari was known for charging hundreds or thousands of dollars to let people pet and hold baby animals such as lions, tigers and monkeys that were so young they were still being bottle-fed. Customers would pay $200 for five minutes and photos with a baby chimp or $7,000 for a sleepover. Antle would sometimes ride into tours on an elephant.
The zoo remains open by reservation only.
Prosecutors said Antle sold or bought cheetahs, lions, tigers and a chimpanzee without the proper paperwork for a decade. They said he also laundered more than $500,000 so he could quickly get cash to buy more animals.
Antle knows federal law well and was able to avoid prosecution for years, prosecutors said. He would accept a large “donation” for an animal to his conservation foundation. He would claim to keep the animal in the same state he bought it, but then move it to his Myrtle Beach zoo, prosecutors said.
FBI tapped phone calls led to several prosecutions
The FBI listened to Antle’s phone calls with an informant as he explained a baby chimpanzee could easily cost $200,000. Private zookeepers can charge hundreds of dollars for photos with docile young primates or other animals, but the profit window is only open for a few years before the growing animals can no longer be safely handled.
“I had to get a monkey, but the people won’t take a check. They only take cash. So what do you do?” Antle said according to a transcript of the phone call in court papers.
Antle will have to give up three chimpanzees he bought as part of his plea deal.
Two of Antle's employees previously were sentenced for their roles in his schemes. Meredith Bybee was given a year of probation for selling a chimpanzee while Andrew “Omar” Sawyer, who prosecutors said helped Antle launder money, was given two years of probation.
Jason Clay, a Texas private zoo owner, pleaded guilty to illegally selling a primate and was sentenced to four months in prison, while charges were dropped against California ranch owner Charles Sammut.
9 lives and more? 60 years of groundbreaking medical advancements have improved cat health and longevity.
9 lives and more? 60 years of groundbreaking medical advancements have improved cat health and longevity.
With more than 350 million beloved cat companions in homes across the globe, the veterinary community has focused on research to keep them around for as long as possible.
Cat owners today can expect their feline friends to live an average of 13 to 17 years. This is partially attributable to shifts in attitudes about indoor and outdoor domestic cats. In the United States, approximately 3 in 5 cats (63%) are indoors only. Indoor cats are known to live significantly longer than outdoor cats since they are protected from risks such as traffic accidents, diseases, extreme weather, and predators.
Still, the contributions of research in medicine and nutrition cannot be overlooked. As recently as 1981, there were no guidelines about taurine in cat food; a deficiency of the essential nutrient can lead to heart failure. Similarly, attitudes about spaying and neutering cats have shifted over time due to studies demonstrating the safety of these practices. This might explain why nearly believe spaying and neutering is the "right thing to do," according to a Faunalytics analysis of a . Another study shows that spayed and neutered cats live about six years longer than their intact counterparts.
While any house cat is still unlikely to rival the oldest cat on record—a Texas tabby named Creme Puff who —these breakthroughs are responsible for considerably increasing the average lifespan. To find out why cats are living much longer lives, explored advancements in feline medicine, nutrition, and care.
1960s: Discovery of feline leukemia virus
Feline leukemia virus is one of the most common feline diseases, affecting 2% to 3% of cats in North America. An oncornavirus, FeLV can lead to the development of cancer as well as anemia and a weakened immune system. FeLV is contagious and can be transmitted through birth, saliva, mutual grooming, bites, or shared food and water sources.
The virus was discovered in 1964 by professor William F.H. Jarrett, who with lymphoma that had been presented to him by veterinarian Harry Pfaff. Six years later, researchers , allowing FeLV-positive cats to be isolated to prevent transmission. Not only did Jarrett and Pfaff's collaboration lead to the development of a , but it is also credited with launching the field of feline retrovirology, which advanced research into other fatal diseases, including feline immunodeficiency virus.
1970s: Improved nutrition standards
Taurine is an essential amino acid found in animal protein that's needed for heart health, vision, digestion, and fetal development in cats. In 1975, scientists K.C. Hayes, R.E. Carey, and S.Y. Schmidt discovered that a taurine deficiency can .
In 1978, a study in The Journal of Nutrition determined cats cannot synthesize taurine from sulfate and, therefore, must get the nutrient directly from their food, characterizing taurine as "an essential nutrient for the cat." These studies prompted the National Research Council to issue a recommendation in 1981 that commercial cat food contain a minimum of 500 parts per million of taurine. Since then, dietary taurine deficiency has been , establishing the nutrient as a staple cat food ingredient.
2000s: Advances in identifying and treating heart disease
will inherit hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, according to the Royal Veterinary College of the University of London, making it the most common inherited feline cardiac disease. It causes the left ventricle to thicken, leading to oxygen starvation and often heart failure. While there is still no cure for the disease, several advances to minimize its symptoms and improve detection were developed in the 2000s. In 2007, researchers that causes the disease in ragdoll cats. The following year, researchers discovered atenolol can be used as an antihypertensive agent to . It is now a common medicine used to manage heart disease symptoms in both cats and dogs.
2010s: Feline infectious peritonitis
Feline infectious peritonitis, first identified in 1963, is a viral disease caused by feline coronaviruses that most commonly affects cats between 3 months and 2 years old. While most cats will be exposed to a feline coronavirus at some point in their lifetimes, mutate into FIP, according to the Cornell Feline Health Center. At that point, the disease is often progressive and fatal, killing the infected cat within weeks.
From 2016 to 2019, researchers at the Center for Companion Animal Health achieved a breakthrough in treating FIP when they identified two antiviral drugs that inhibit certain FIPV proteins from replicating. One of them, GS-441524, was brought to market first in Australia and the United Kingdom, reaching North America in 2024.
2010-2020s: Chronic kidney disease diagnostics
Feline chronic kidney disease remains one of the most common diseases in older cats, affecting up to 2 in 5 cats over 10 years old—a staggering statistic that rises to 4 in 5 cats over 15, according to the Cornell Feline Health Center. Across all ages, it of cats, and it is the leading cause of death in cats over 5 years old.
In 2014, by evaluating a population of affected cats, identifying dehydration, thin body condition, and a history of periodontal disease or urinary tract infections. Antech Diagnostics furthered identification methods when, in 2019, it released RenalTech, a diagnostic tool that uses artificial intelligence to predict if a cat will develop CKD up to two years before its onset.
More breakthroughs in store to improve cat health
These groundbreaking developments in feline health research are just the beginning. Modern research initiatives continue to prioritize the most common contributors to feline mortality and reduced quality of life, including CKD, heart disease, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism. In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration conditionally to treat anemia in cats with CKD. Other advancements include a novel drug, rapamycin, to treat feline heart disease, which was pending FDA approval as of February 2025. A bid to cure FIP was also underway, with the Center for Companion Animal Health using stem cells in clinical trials to aid treatment of the disease.
One more focus is on integrating technologies such as AI with wearable devices to track behaviors that may indicate emerging health issues. With such progress, each of a cat's nine lives may be longer than the last.
Story editing by Mike Taylor. Copy editing by Paris Close.
originally appeared on and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
1980s: Discovery of feline immunodeficiency virus
Feline immunodeficiency virus is a highly infectious disease similar to HIV in humans that is typically transmitted through bites. It severely weakens the immune system over time, making the cat susceptible to infections of all types. The virus is common and in North America, according to the Cornell Feline Health Center. It is more prevalent across the globe, including in Malaysia, in a 2024 study were infected.
In 1986, a California woman who regularly took strays into her home noticed many would become sick and die when kept in close proximity to one particular cat. Immunologist Janet Yamamoto and Dr. Niels Pederson analyzed samples from healthy and affected cats, leading to the identification of FIV. Yamamoto went on to develop the first commercial FIV vaccine, Fel-O-Vax, which gained federal licensure in 2002 and has an 84% efficacy rate.
1990s: Advancements in spay and neuter protocols
Over 30 years ago, the veterinary community widely believed that spaying and neutering cats at a young age was risky, and many veterinarians refused to perform the procedure on cats under 16 weeks. In 1995, researchers Dr. Mark Bloomberg and Dr. W. Preston Stubbs determined that spaying and neutering at 7 weeks was safe.
According to a 2022 University of California, Davis, Center for Companion Animal Health study that looked at postmortem examinations of 3,108 cats (and omitted those that died before 12 months of age), spayed female cats , while intact females lived 4.7 years; neutered males lived 9.8 years, while intact males lived 3.7 years. Part of the difference is attributable to the removal of sex organs, which reduces or eliminates the possibility of developing mammary gland, uterine, or testicular cancers.
