The ‘Tiger King’ zoo has closed permanently.
Owner Jeff Lowe has revealed that the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, which became famous thanks to the Netflix series ‘Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness’, has shut its doors for good and will become a "private film set for ‘Tiger King’ related television content for cable and streaming services".
In a new post on Facebook on Tuesday (18.08.2), Jeff hit out at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and wrote: "Do the the permanent closure of the Wynnewood Zoo, I’m forfeiting my USDA exhibitors license.
"The very agency that has given my facility five consecutive perfect inspections, has now folded to the pressures of PETA and continue to make false accusations against me.
"Suspiciously, less than 24 hours after I contacted the USDA to voluntarily forfeit my license, they notify me that they are suspending my license for 21 days for a litany of falsehoods. In the State of Oklahoma, exotic animal ownership is perfectly legal (sic)."
Jeff also said ‘Tiger King’ had provided the zoo with "an unfathomable source of income" and vowed to use the profits to look after the animals in his care.
He said: "The ‘Tiger King’ phenomenon has definitely changed our lives in many ways. It has brought us more attention than any human deserves, good and bad. It has, and probably will continue to make us a target of every nutjob and animal rights loon in the World, but we are prepared.
"It has also provided us with an unfathomable source of income. Income that will guarantee the long term care of our animals and allow us to be very selective going forward. As of today, we have decided to close the old zoo effective immediately.
"Rest assured that all the animals will continue to have excellent care, and consequently will no longer be subject to USDA inspections or PETA spies. Our new park will, at least for the foreseeable future, be a private film set for Tiger King related television content for cable and streaming services.
"This was in fact a decision that we made more than a month ago and was the huge news that we spoke about on Facebook a couple weeks ago. So, thanks to all the people who have visited the Wynnewood Zoo over the years! We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Effective immediately, we are closed to the public!"