The FBI booked “Tiger King” actor Bhagavan “Doc” Antle into a South Carolina jail on Friday evening.
Antle, 62, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. in a North Myrtle Beach detention center with no charges filed against him, according to official records. According to TMZ, the arrest was made in connection with money laundering.
Myrtle Beach Safari is owned by Antle, who appeared in the hit Netflix docuseries as a rival of Joe Exotic.
He has been charged with many offenses for trafficking and abusing exotic animals in previous years. In a statement to The Washington Post, activists praised his recent arrest.
“We applaud the Dept. of Justice and FBI for arresting Bhagavan ‘Doc’ Antle, a longtime scoundrel engaged in the egregious and inhumane trade of dangerous big cats,” said Marty Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action.
“Irresponsible breeding, inhumane living conditions, and public exploitation is a serious problem in the U.S., and caging these wild animals also presents a threat to human health and safety.”
Antle allegedly had sex with juveniles, mistreated women, and deceived a wildlife charity, according to a Netflix documentary series titled “Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story.”
