Tiger King zoo permanently closes as owner Jeff Lowe forfeits his license
The zoo, was previously called the GW Zoo when it was still owned by Joe Exotic, was snapped up by Jeff Lowe in 2016 who renamed it the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park
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The zoo featured in Netflix‘s hit series Tiger King has been permanently shut down.
The zoo, which was previously called the GW Zoo when it was still owned by Joe Exotic, was snapped up by Jeff Lowe in 2016 who renamed it Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.
Joe Exotic – whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage – was caged for 22 years in prison for hiring a hitman to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin, on top of numerous animal abuse charges.
But now Jeff has decided to forfeit his USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) license – meaning the world-famous zoo in Oklahoma will now be fully closed to the public.
The closure comes just two months after a court ruling handed the zoo over to Carole as part of a ruling in a $1 million trademark dispute.
The ruling gave Jeff just 120 days to hand over the keys, remove all of his animals, and entirely vacate the premises.
Taking to Facebook, Jeff shared a message with fans as he explained how the Netflix show impacted his life.
He penned: “The Tiger King phenomenon has definitely change our lives in many way. It has brought us more attention than any human deserves, good and bad.”
He continued: “It has, and probably will continue to make us a target of every nutjob and animal rights loon in the world, but we are prepared.
“It has also provided us with an unfathomable source of income. Income that will guarantee the long term care of our animals and allow us to be very selective going forward.”
“As of today, we have decided to close the old zoo effective immediately. ‘Do the the permanent closure of the Wynnewood Zoo, I’m forfeiting my USDA exhibitors license [sic].”
Jeff went on to claim that the USDA made “false accusations” against him, writing: “The very agency that has given my facility five consecutive perfect inspections, has now folded to the pressures of PETA and continue to make false accusations against me.”
He went on: “Suspiciously, less than 24 hours after I contacted the USDA to voluntarily forfeit my license, they notify me that they are suspending my license for 21 days for a litany of falsehoods.
“In the State of Oklahoma, exotic animal ownership is perfectly legal.
“Rest assured that all the animals will continue to have excellent care, and consequently will no longer be subject to USDA inspections or PETA spies.”
But despite the sad news of the closure for many Tiger King fans, Jeff reassured them that future projects for the show will still be filmed at that zoo.
He explained: “Our new park will, at least for the foreseeable future, be a private film set for Tiger King related television content for cable and streaming services.
“This was in fact a decision that we made more than a month ago and was the huge news that we spoke about on Facebook a couple weeks ago.
“So, thanks to all the people who have visited the Wynnewood Zoo over the years! We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Effective immediately, we are closed to the public!”
The closure came as music to PETA’s ears as the animal rights organisation celebrated the news in a statement, writing: “Jeff Lowe’s license has been suspended, a permanent revocation should be next, and his tiger-terrorizing days may soon be over.
“PETA looks forward to seeing every one of the long-suffering animals at the G.W. Zoo be transferred to an appropriate facility where it won’t take federal intervention for a sick cat to receive veterinary care.”
MirrorCeleb