Carole Baskin, whose long-standing feud with Joe Exotic was chronicled in the hit Netflix docuseries Tiger King, has been awarded the zoo once owned by her nemesis.
The news has come as a shock to fans, particularly those on team Exotic.
A judge ruled in favour of Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue Corporation in a lawsuit against the Greater Wynnewood Development Group, LLC. The latter company once was owned by Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage.
The order gives Baskin control of about 16 acres of land in Garvin County, Oklahoma, that is home to an animal park with an array of big cats. Baskin, who owns an animal sanctuary in Florida, had for years been a vocal critic of Joe Exotic’s park, a feud that escalated into a court battle.
Exotic argued that Baskin was trying to destroy his business with an online smear campaign in videos she posted to her YouTube page and social media channels. Meanwhile, Baskin argued that Exotic was abusing his animals and crusaded against his use of tigers for profit.
He was convicted last year in a murder for hire plot against Baskin and is serving a 22-year sentence for the hit attempt and other crimes that include animal abuse.
In 2011, Baskin won a trademark infringement lawsuit against Exotic who was ordered to pay her $1 million. In a second suit, filed in 2016, she claimed he had subsequently transferred the Oklahoma property to his mother in a bid to evade creditors. On Monday a federal judge in Oklahoma City ordered that the property be turned over to Baskin.
Baskin’s husband, Howard Baskin, acknowledged the judgment on Big Cat Rescue’s Facebook page writing: The court documents speak for themselves.
