Feds Suspend License of Jeff Lowe of ‘Tiger King’
For Immediate Release:
August 18, 2020
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
PETA has just learned that yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suspended the federal Animal Welfare Act exhibitor’s license of Jeff Lowe of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (aka “G.W. Zoo”) and Netflix’s Tiger King. Effective immediately, Lowe cannot exhibit big cats, bears, primates, or other USDA-regulated species at the G.W. Zoo or any other property, including at his reportedly forthcoming new roadside zoo in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
This rare step of a license suspension follows another unprecedented move by the USDA: In June, it halted its inspection of the facility and ordered Lowe to seek immediate veterinary care for a juvenile lion named Nala (see page 19), who was lying in mud, lethargic, depressed, and thin.
Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet:
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.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. More information about recent developments at G.W. Zoo is available here.
