At long last, the Lowes are finally shut down. The effort was long and expensive, but we did what we needed to do to finally bring this ugly story to its conclusion.
As 2020 was winding to a close, a SHARK drone team spent a day in
Thackerville, Oklahoma, filming the horrible conditions endured by
the animals of the so-called Tiger King Zoo, which was run by Jeff
and Lauren Lowe, the animal abusers of the Tiger King Netflix
series. The visit was a real eye-opener, as animals were filmed in
tiny cages, with little or no protection from the elements, and fed
food that looked like it belonged in a toilet, not a serving
platter. [See
Las Vegas TV Covers SHARK’s Exposé of 'Tiger King' Usurper]
We returned in the spring, spending a series of days filming while
the Lowes actually tried to shoot our drones down, and used their
vehicles to try to intimidate us. The intimidation effort did not
work.
The sad and desperate camel left behind at the zoo...
A drone team was there again when the federal government seized all
the remaining big cats who were protected under the Endangered
Species Act. Our drone shot images that were broadcast around the
world.
When federal agents left, and the big cats were gone, there were
still 61 animals left behind who were not covered by the seizure
order. These included a camel, horses, ponies, goats, wolves,
primates, tortoises, lemurs, emus, caracals, foxes and others. We
continued to film those animals, because those animals needed help
as badly as those who had been removed.
SHARK's drone video of the wolves left behind...
SHARK reached out to the USDA and called for them to take action and
rescue the remaining animals at the Lowe Zoo. The petition to the
USDA and USFWS requesting the removal of the remaining animals
collected over 82,783 signatures.
We are proud to announced that last week the 61 remaining animals
were rescued and placed with reputable Animal Welfare Act-licensed
facilities! At long last, the Lowes are finally shut down. The
effort was long and expensive, but we did what we needed to do to
finally bring this ugly story to its conclusion.