FREDERICK COUNTY, Va. — Bhagavan Antle, also known as Doc Antle from the Netflix series “Tiger King," got a two-year suspended sentence in Frederick County, Virginia on wildlife trafficking charges Tuesday.
The sentencing comes after Antle was convicted on two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and two felony counts of conspiring to wildlife traffic in June. He was accused of illegally buying endangered lion clubs in Frederick County to show at his zoo business in South Carolina, according to the Office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.
For each count, Antle got a two-year suspended sentence that will run consecutively and will have to pay the maximum fee of $2,500 per conviction, totaling a $10,000 fine. He will also not be allowed to work, own, possess, broker, buy, sell, trade, transfer, barter or donate any exotic animals within Virginia for five years.
“Today concludes a multi-year investigation and prosecution by my office," Miyares wrote in a news release. "In Virginia, we uphold the rule of law without exception, whether dealing with violent repeat offenders, big pharma, fraudsters and scammers, or wildlife traffickers. This case sends a clear message that bad actors will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth."
Antle was originally featured in "Tiger King," which documented the life of former zookeeper Joe Exotic, who was convicted in the murder-for-hire plot of his rival, Big Cat Rescue owner Carole Baskin.
He eventually became the subject of a spin-off entitled "Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story," which examined accusations of sexual abuse, violence, and misconduct against him.
