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Judge gives control of Joe Exotic’s zoo to Carole Baskin

By Wire Report
ABOVE: Joseph Maldonado-Passage, a.k.a. Joe Exotic, is currently serving a 22-year federal prison term. (Photo from Twitter)

WYNNEWOOD, Okla. (AP) | A federal judge in Oklahoma has awarded ownership of the zoo made famous in Netflix’s “Tiger King” docuseries to Joe Exotic’s chief rival.

In a June 1 ruling, 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 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 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.

The official “Joe Exotic” Twitter account, hosted by Media Exotic, wrote “It is a dark day in history when someone takes a man’s life’s work while the world isn’t looking. Carole Baskin has stolen the Zoo while Joe is helpless behind bars and the world is trying to fix the brokenness in our police departments. Help us, please.”

Maldonado-Passage remains incarcerated in Fort Worth, Texas. In a handwritten letter posted on Twitter June 1, he repeated his plea for a presidential pardon.

Attorneys representing Big Cat Rescue Corp. did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

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