‘Tiger King’ Star Doc Antle
Animal Handler Set to Be Caged …
For Wildlife Trafficking & $$$ Laundering
Published
Doc Antle — the ponytailed big-cat handler from “Tiger King” — just got slapped with a 12-month prison sentence … after pleading guilty in a wild case involving dirty money and illegal wildlife dealings.
The Myrtle Beach Safari owner admitted to laundering more than $500K in what he thought was part of a human smuggling op, and also copped to violating the Lacey Act — which bans illegal wildlife trafficking.
Now, he’s not only doing time, but also has to fork over $55K, give up three chimps, nearly $200K in assets, and serve three years of supervised release once he’s out of prison.
His co-defendants have already been sentenced — and one guy even admitted to selling him a newborn chimp.
The whole thing dates back to a 2022 bust, when the feds hauled Doc in for allegedly running a years-long wildlife trafficking scheme.
At the time, he was still operating his Myrtle Beach sanctuary during his “Tiger King” fame days — so some of those animals may’ve been part of the tourist trap.
Howard Baskin — husband of Carole Baskin — tells TMZ … “While we would certainly have preferred a longer sentence, having him spend at least some time locked in a cage and experiencing at least some degree of what he has subjected animals to for over 40 years is a major victory in our opinion for law-enforcement and for animal welfare.”
He continues, “Hopefully continued scrutiny will eventually lead to the closing of his operation and the end to the mistreatment of so many animals.”
Content shared from www.tmz.com.