1. Doc Antle has worked as an animal trainer for films including Ace Ventura and Dr Doolittle in addition to appearing as a guest on several television shows.
33 Facts About Doc Antle
1. 2.
Antle was the subject of a follow-up documentary Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story released in December 2021.
3.
Doc Antle has faced accusations of animal cruelty throughout his career.
4.
In 2020, Doc Antle was charged with felony wildlife trafficking after an investigation by the Attorney General of Virginia.
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In 2022, Doc Antle was arrested and charged by the FBI for wildlife trafficking and money laundering.
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Doc Antle pleaded guilty to the federal charges in November 2023 and faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
7.
Doc Antle has faced public allegations of inappropriate relationships with minors at the private zoo in Buckingham County, Virginia, as well as operating a cult at the Myrtle Beach Safari location, claims that Doc Antle denies.
8.
Doc Antle's father endowed him with a hefty trust fund after his death.
9.
Doc Antle performed magic shows and became a close associate of Satchidananda.
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Doc Antle is a self-described conservationist and is the executive director of the Rare Species Fund, a nonprofit organization that purports to fund wildlife conservation.
11.
Journalists have raised questions about how revenue generated by Doc Antle's cub petting tours is distributed between his business and his nonprofit organization.
12.
In 2008, Suryia and Roscoe, an orangutan and an orphaned blue tick hound which had formed an unusual relationship at Doc Antle's zoo, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago.
13.
Antle was the subject of a three-part true crime documentary spin-off of Tiger King, titled Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story released by Netflix on December 10,2021.
14.
Doc Antle was fined by the USDA for abandoning deer and peacocks at his zoo in Buckingham, Virginia in 1989.
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In total, Doc Antle has more than 35 USDA violations for mistreating animals.
16.
Joe Exotic, who operated the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, accused Doc Antle of killing tigers in gas chambers to make space for further breeding.
17.
Doc Antle delivered seven tigers to the Samut Prakan zoo in Thailand, which is a zoo that has faced allegations of keeping animals in terrible conditions.
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However, former employees of Doc Antle have claimed that much of the charity's donations are funneled back to Doc Antle.
19.
Doc Antle told media at the time that this was for DNA testing lions for a multi-state investigation.
20.
In 2020, Doc Antle was reported as being investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Justice for the illegal sale of big cats including tigers.
21.
Doc Antle was indicted in October 2020 by a grand jury in Frederick County, Virginia, after a months-long investigation by the Animal Law Unit of the Virginia Attorney General.
22.
Doc Antle was found not guilty of nine misdemeanor charges.
23.
On October 3,2023, Doc Antle was fined $10,000 and banned for five years from "possessing, trading or interacting with wild animals" in Virginia.
24.
Doc Antle was arrested on June 3,2022, by the FBI and booked into jail for charges related to money laundering.
25.
Doc Antle faced charges relating to illegally trafficking animals, including leopards, cheetahs and a chimpanzee, in violation of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
26.
Doc Antle's federal sentencing hearing was scheduled for August 27,2024, but it was postponed indefinitely on August 22.
27.
Doc Antle has expressed expectations that his employees must see the zoo as more than a workplace, as it is an all encompassing lifestyle.
28.
However, soon after, Doc Antle picked Hirsch up from school and she ran off to live with him.
29.
Doc Antle has criticized the accusations against him and his facility, specifically calling Fisher's claims "ramblings" and saying she has "issues and somehow those have boiled up".
30.
Doc Antle married his first wife, Betsy "Brami" Rodgers around the time they both attended a one month yoga retreat at Yogaville while teenagers.
31.
Rodgers and Doc Antle have one child, a daughter named Devi.
32.
Doc Antle had a long term relationship with Sumati Steinberg, and they have one child, a daughter named Tilakam.
33.
Several of Doc Antle's children have worked with him at the Myrtle Beach Safari.