Where Is 'Tiger King's' Tim Stark Now? He's Bankrupt and Has Lost All of His Animals
By Kelly CorbettNov. 18 2021, Published 10:24 a.m. ET
If you thought Season 1 of Netflix docuseries Tiger King was once action-packed, wait till you notice Season 2. In the sequence' sophomore installment, Joe Exotic works to try to enchantment his prison conviction, Don Lewis’s alleged death is additional investigated, and audience are offered to a couple of new faces like Tim Stark.
We be informed that Stark, an animal breeder and owner of the non-profit Wildlife in Need, tried to open a zoo with Jeff Lowe after Joe was once despatched to prison. How’d that go? It horrendously flopped. Lowe barely contributed to the mission and exhausted Stark and all of his sources. But Stark is certainly not the good man on this state of affairs. After Season 2 of Tiger King wrapped, the truth in the back of Stark’s wrongdoings unraveled. Keep reading to peer where Tim Stark is today.
'Tiger King’s' Tim Stark's federal license was once revoked and he and his wildlife facility have been fined.
Season 2 of Tiger King briefly shed a light on Tim Stark’s non-profit Wildlife in Need, which was once founded in 1999 in Charlestown, Ind., with the project of rescuing and rehabilitating indigenous flora and fauna. However, Wildlife in Need ended up hurting way more animals than it saved. Carly Brigaman, a former volunteer at the facility, told WHAS11 that the zoo "is not what it claims to be ... animals that go there, they suffer a very terrible life."
Workers claimed that Wildlife in Need's animals were often parched, starved, and kept in insufficient cages. They additionally famous that the power used to be understaffed and that Stark would mistreat unwell animals. On most sensible of that, he didn't keep any forms in terms of the animals he brought in and supposedly helped release. His employees alleged that this was for the reason that majority of the animals were killed or died and never were given the risk to be set free.
In February 2020, a USDA administrative pass judgement on ruled that Stark had "willfully violated” the Animal Welfare Act over 120 times between January 2012 and January 2016. Wildlife in Need’s federal license was revoked, and the facility was fined $300,000. Stark was also fined $40,000 in civil penalties. He tried to appeal the ruling, but it was upheld by a USDA judicial officer in April 2020. His attorney, Clay Culotta, told WHAS11 at the time that he planned to appeal once again.
However, he missed the June 8, 2020 deadline to file the paperwork. Meanwhile, Stark's crimes only continued to catch up to him. In August 2020, PETA won a lawsuit against him and his ex-wife after it was revealed that Wildlife in Need had prematurely separated big cat cubs from their mothers and used declawing procedures that caused the cubs to suffer.
Stark was permanently barred from owning big cats and ordered to pay $734,000 to PETA (the number was later upped to $750,000 to incorporate PETA’s legal fees). Twenty-five of his big cats were transferred to accredited sanctuaries, as well.
Tim Stark’s Wildlife in Need was dissolved in November 2020.
In September 2020, two warrants were out for Stark’s arrest in Clarks County, Ind. due to charges of battery and intimidation of a prosecutor, according to Tim Stark is permanently forbidden from ever owning or exhibiting exotic or native animals. The plot continues to thicken. In April 2021, an Indiana judge discovered that Stark had previously used funds from Wildlife in Need for his own personal use, per WHAS11. Stark was officially and permanently forbidden from ever owning or exhibiting exotic or native animals. Any animals remaining in his custody were transferred to the Indianapolis Zoo. After losing his animals, Stark posted a Facebook Live video in which he said he couldn’t "suppose proper mentally anymore" while waving a gun. Because of that, he was temporarily taken into custody, and his license to carry handguns was also suspended. On Oct. 12, 2021, Stark was summoned to court to explain why he was auctioning off what was left of Wildlife in Need. He failed to show up. Ten days later, he took to Facebook Live once once more where he declared chapter. A listening to regarding the choice of his property is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2021. ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXSramam6Ses7p6wqikaKhfrLWmvsRmoKxlpJ66br%2FTmqmkZZ6kxG7AyKCcq2WbnruoTim Stark declares bankruptcy.
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