Joe Exotic
The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park is a park displaying animals in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. The park is licensed by the State of Oklahoma as a rendering facility.[1] It was purchased and re-opened by Jeff Lowe, a South Carolina businessman once convicted of mail fraud,[2][3] in February 2016, shortly before its founder, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, né Joseph Schreibvogel and nicknamed "Joe Exotic", attempted to hire a hitman to kill Carole Baskin, Chief Executive Officer of Big Cat Rescue,[4] who had won a lawsuit against him in 2013
Establishment and history
The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park is situated on 16 acres (6.5 ha) and began as a shelter for endangered and exotic species of animals. The zoo was home to over 50 species of animals and 200 big cats, such as tigers, lions, puma, ligers and tigons.[citation needed]
Legal problems
Between February and June 2006 PETA had an investigator work as an employee.[9] The group subsequently released footage.[10] PETA alleged that animals were starved and "routinely hit, punched, kicked, sprayed with cold water, and struck with rakes and shovels."[11][12] In 2012, the Humane Society of the United States released video taken by an undercover investigator. It included footage of a tiger being dragged across gravel, big cats being hit and Maldonado-Passage instructing staff to smack cubs to make them walk.[13][14] HSUS claimed that 5 tigers died during their investigation, one of which did not receive veterinary care.[14] In May 2014, the USDA cited the park for failure to provide adequate veterinary care. According to officials, an injured bear's wound reopened and an employee attempted to stitch it. The injury subsequently worsened and the bear was euthanized.[15]
Feeding big cats was a large expense for the zoo so Joe would take in donated horses and shoot them in the head. He fed them to the tigers.[16]
On October 6, 2017 Joe's husband Travis Maldonado accidentally fatally shot himself in the head. The shooting occurred while the zoo was opened and in front of an employee.[17]
Arrest and Conviction
In September 2018, Maldonado-Passage was indicted and arrested by the FBI for attempting to hire someone to murder Carole Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue.[18] He was convicted April 2, 2019.[7] Maldonado-Passage has since been arrested and convicted of two counts of murder-for-hire, eight violations of the Lacey Act and nine of the Endangered Species Act.[6][7] On January 22, 2020 he was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.[8]
New ownership
The new owner of the zoo, Jeff Lowe, plans to close the zoo in Wynnewood and move the animals to a new location near Thackerville.[7]
Documentary
The 2020 Netflix original documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is centered around Maldonado-Passage
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