Carole Baskin wins control over Joe Exotic's former zoo 'Tiger King Park'

The real-life battle between Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage aka Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin in Netflix series Tiger King has grabbed much attention. It was shown that the Big Cat Rescue Corp. owner Baskin sued Joe for trademark violation. Now she has legally won control over Joe’s former zoo. Read to know more.

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Carole Baskin to have control of Joe Exotic’s former zoo

Federal judge Scott Palk of the western district court of Oklahoma ruled that Carole Baskin’s 'Big Cat Rescue Corp' will take over Joe Exotic’s established zoo property in Oklahoma. The 16,439-acre property heavily features in Tiger King. The current owner of the property, Jeff Lowe has been given 120 days to vacate Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.

They also have to remove all zoo animals from the land. It means that Baskin would not be responsible for all the cats and kittens currently residing on the land. However, Big Cat Rescue will get the ownership of several trucks based on the property as a part of the deal. It includes two doge RAMs, a Ford F-150 and a GMA Sierra. This indicated that Joe Exotic, who is sentenced to 22 years in prison for a murder-for-hire charge against Baskin, might never financially recover from the loss.

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The court ruled that the Joe Exotic’s mother Shirley M. Schreibvogel fraudulently transferred the G. W. Zoo. It was an attempt to protect it from a $1 million settlement owed to Carol Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue Corp. In 2010, Baskin filed a suit against the “Tiger King Park” claiming that the then owner, Exotic used her name and logo to damage their reputation and cause confusion. The defendants counter-claimed, stating that Big Cat Rescue had caused them financial loss, which was rejected in 2013.

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Formerly known as Garold Wayne Exotic Animal Memorial Park, it began as a shelter for endangered and exotic animal species. Established by Joe Exotic in 1999, the park reportedly has been home to more than 50 species of animals and 200 big cats, such as tigers, lions, puma, ligers and tigons. Jeff Lowe purchased the park in 2016 and three years later planned to close it.

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Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is a true-crime documentary miniseries. It released on Netflix on March 20, 2020. The show focuses on the small but deeply interconnected society of big cat conservationists such as Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue, and collectors such as Joe Exotic, whom Baskin accuses of abusing and exploiting wild animals. Tiger King garnered positive reviews and emerged as a success.