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The 71-year-old Nevada man was arrested last week after authorities seized seven tigers. He claimed that they were all “emotional support animals.”
NYE County authorities reportedly attacked Carl Mitchell’s home in Pahrump, a town about 65 miles west of Las Vegas on March 2, with the man not having the proper permission to keep the animals up, NBC News reported.
In an interview, Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill told the outlet that the 71-year-old had seen wildlife walking inside and out of the desert grounds, and social media posts showed he allowed others to interact with the Tigers.
On his part, Mitchell allegedly claimed that, according to a lawsuit filed against Nye County in 2020, the Tigers had already been recognized by county authorities as his emotional support animal, so he did not require animal permits in special conditions.
The 71-year-old also claimed that the Tigers had no threat to the public, the Economic Times reported.
Joe Exotic, aka Joseph Maldanado, was seen in a promotional photo released by Netflix for the docusary “Tiger King.” (Netflix) COENESBURG, CO – April 5: A pair of 39 Tigers rescued from Joe Exotic’s Golden Week exotic animal park relax in 2017 at a wildlife sanctuary held in Keynesburg, Colorado on April 5, 2020. The Tiger King star of the exotic Netflix Docu series is currently in prison for a murder-hiring plot, and has abandoned some of his animals to wildlife sanctuaries. The sanctuary carries about 550 animals in two vast reserves in Colorado. (Photo: Marc Piscotty/Getty Images) One of the 39 Tigers was rescued by a yawn in 2017 at a Wildlife Refuge in Keynesburg, Colorado on April 5, 2020. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images) File – August 28, 2013, File Photo, Joseph Maldonado, also known as Joe Exotic, answers questions in an interview he runs at the zoo in Winnewood, Oklahoma (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
With another twist, Mitchell said he rescued Tigers from Joe Exotic, the Oklahoma Zookeeper, the heart of the Netflix series “Tiger King.”
Maldonado, 61, has been jailed since 2019 for trying to hire a hitman to kill a longtime rival in Carol Baskin, a wildlife rescue space. He was also found guilty of killing tigers, selling Tiger Cubs and forged records. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the crime and was later cut to 21 years on appeal.
As for Mitchell, he was arrested and booked for resisting a peace officer during the March 2nd attack and being a felon in possession of a gun. He was released after posting $6,000 bail, NBC News reported.
Sheriff McGill said some of the larger cats appeared to be losing weight, and the algae were found to be growing in animal water dishes.
The seven tigers were examined by the vet who was taken away while at Mitchell’s house. The sheriff said the animals will be “taken to an undisclosed sanctuary and held until they are ordered to be released,” NBC News reported.
Mitchell is scheduled to appear in court on May 15th.
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