PETA Moves to Join Federal Lawsuit Against Jeff Lowe

For Immediate Release:
April 29, 2021

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

To help put notorious animal exhibitor and Tiger King subject Jeff Lowe out of business forever, PETA has just filed a motion to intervene as a co-plaintiff in the federal government’s lawsuit against him, his co-defendants, and Tiger King Park.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit alleges violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including illegally taking, possessing, and transporting protected animals and placing the health of animals in serious danger. Preliminary rulings in that case have already relied heavily on precedent PETA won in an ESA lawsuit against Lowe’s former business partner Tim Stark of Wildlife in Need. The DOJ’s suit seeks, among other forms of relief, for the defendants to relinquish all federally protected species in their possession. If granted the right to proceed as a co-plaintiff, PETA will work to have all animals under the defendants’ control transferred to reputable facilities.

“All animals who have survived Lowe deserve a chance to enjoy more natural lives in a safe and comfortable environment,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet, who appeared on Tiger King. “Lowe must never be allowed to exploit animals again.”

Lowe has already lost an AWA license revocation lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and still faces a federal ESA lawsuit from PETA in the Southern District of Indiana. Last year, PETA and The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado rescued three juvenile lions from his custody.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.