68 lions, tigers and other panthers once owned by Joe Exotic , the flamboyant zoo owner at the heart of the documentary Tiger King, have been seized the US Department of Justice said on Thursday.
Prosecutors said they believed a jaguar, seven lions, 46 tigers and 15 lion-tiger hybrids owned by Jeffrey Lowe and his wife, Lauren Lowe, had been sold, purchased or transported, which would be a violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The affidavit said: “There is probable cause to believe that the 68 big cats and the jaguar continue to be harmed and harassed and, therefore, unlawfully taken in violation of the ESA.”