For those who need a quick refresher: Joseph Maldonado, a.k.a. Joe Exotic, became a national sensation in 2020 when the documentary “Tiger King” soared to the top of Netflix’s charts. As an eccentric-dressing, gay polygamist and exotic cat owner with lofty political aspirations, it’s no wonder everyone couldn’t stop talking about him.
However, Joe Exotic’s name fell out of public consciousness when he went to jail for a murder-for-hire plot aimed at his big cat arch nemesis Carol Baskin. Today, he remains in jail serving a 21-year prison sentence after he was convicted on 21 counts, including two counts of murder-for-hire, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
Since his arrest, Exotic’s name has surfaced here and there, especially when he’s pleaded with Donald Trump to pardon him. However, his name has come up again, but this time for a story involving another big cat enthusiast who allegedly purchased six of Exotic’s tigers following his arrest.
On April 2, Karl Mitchell, a 71-year-old exotic animal handler with a history of legal issues, had his seven tigers seized from his Nevada home due to lacking the permits required to keep exotic animals. Mitchell argued that the tigers were “emotional support animals” for his PTSD.
Rick Burgess of the “Rick Burgess Show” discusses this strange story.
“They relieve his stress — seven tigers!” says Burgess in disbelief. “This thing with animals — these therapy animals — is getting out of control.”
Greg Burgess agrees, adding, “I’ll give you dogs, cats, maybe a rabbit, but once you get into peacocks and all that …”
The panel wonders what would happen had any of these tigers gotten loose and roamed into the surrounding communities. The idea isn’t far-fetched when you consider that the sheriff’s office closest to Mitchell’s property received several reports that he had been seen “walking the tigers loose around the property” as well as “off the property.” On top of that, Mitchell had posted social media videos showing his tigers interacting with random people.
While he may claim that his tigers “rescue him” from PTSD, Greg says these animals are probably the ones “begging to be rescued.”
To hear more of the conversation and see footage of Mitchell explaining his dependence on his emotional support tigers, watch the clip above.
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