Florida's Carole Baskin Given Control Of 'Tiger King' Joe Exotic's Zoo By Federal Judge
WYNNEWOOD, OK (CBSMiami/AP) — The zoo made famous in Netflix's "Tiger King" docuseries has been awarded to Joe Exotic's chief rival - Carole Baskin.
In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Scott Palk granted control of the Oklahoma zoo that was previously run by Joseph Maldonado-Passage — also known as Joe Exotic — to Big Cat Rescue Corp.
The 67 acres Big Cat Rescue sanctuary is in the Citrus Park area of north Tampa.
The Florida group was founded by Carole Baskin, who also featured prominently in the hit Netflix series.
Maldonado-Passage is currently serving a 22-year federal prison term for killing five tigers and plotting to have Baskin killed.
Baskin previously sued Maldonado-Passage for trademark and copyright infringements and won a $1 million civil judgment against him. Palk's judgment Monday found that ownership of the zoo was fraudulently transferred to Maldonado-Passage's mother in an attempt to avoid paying the judgment.
The decision said the zoo animals must be removed from the property within 120 days but it does not detail what should happen to them.
Attorneys representing Big Cat Rescue Corp. did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Maldonado-Passage remains incarcerated in Fort Worth, Texas. In a handwritten letter posted Monday on Twitter, he repeated his plea for a presidential pardon.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
