Long time readers will know that CWW has spoken out about ‘Doc’ Bhagavan Antle for the last ten years, working diligently to educate the public about the abuse and exploitation which have always been the foundation of Bhagavan’s enterprises, whatever their form. From his earliest exploits in Virginia, seducing impressionable underaged women while also exploiting captive wildlife, to his ill-advised participation in the trash-fest known as Tiger King and its offshoots, Antle’s primary function has always been the exploitation and abuse of the animals in his possession.

*A young Bhagavan Antle and Swami Satchidananda pose with one of Antle’s lions. Photo: Living Yoga: The life and teachings of Swami Satchidananda (credit C-Ville Weekly*

CWW’s efforts to expose Antle’s damaging behavior, and has not come without retaliation from Antle himself, and those who support him. From death threats emailed to us by Karl Mitchell when we wrote about him and Doc Antle in one article, to repeated accusations of DMCA violations by Antle in an attempt to get any of our articles mentioning him removed from social media platforms, and threats of lawsuits for defamation, CWW has weathered it all without flinching. Educating the public about the abuse and exploitation of the animals suffering under Doc Antle’s umbrella of facilities was, and remains, our priority.

So, after a questionable cameo in the original Tiger King series, and disastrous starring role in the followup Tiger King The Doc Antle Story series (no we will not be linking to these, as the productions were created solely for profit by glamorizing those who have systemically abused captive wild animals while vilifying anyone who questioned them) where is Doc Antle now?

The short answer is, still operating his exploitive and abusive exotic animal zoo, still defending everything he has done, and continues to do, as ‘conservation’, and still managing to get articles celebrating him while minimizing his abuse and exploitation published on various platforms.

The longer answer is, still around, but somewhat beleaguered by multiple criminal charges on both state and Federal levels (but not nearly enough in the opinion of CWW).

Before the series Tiger King The Doc Antle Story (which claimed to ‘unpack the truth about Doc Antle, private zoo operator’) was even released in 2021, Doc Antle had already been indicted on one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to wildlife traffic, four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act, and nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty by the by a grand jury in Frederick County Virginia. These indictments came in October of 2020 after a months long investigation by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s Animal Law Unit.

Despite claims by AG Mark Herrings that he and his office take captive wild animal exploitation and abuse ‘very seriously’ the courts seem much less concerned. Though Antle was found guilty of two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and two felony counts of conspiring to wildlife traffic by a jury in Frederick County, he was found not guilty all nine misdemeanor counts of animal abuse.

For the felony convictions, something which could have resulted in 20 years imprisonment for *each* felony conviction, Antle received instead only a paltry two-year suspended sentence, five years of probation and a single $10,000 fine, according to the Virginia court system. He is also banned for five years from working with, owning, possessing, brokering, buying, selling, trading, transferring, bartering, or donating exotic animals within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

It seems that courts just cannot take animal animal abuse and the protection of captive wild animals seriously.

If that seems like a harsh statement, consider the fact that the man who was charged alongside Antle for all of the above never saw a day in court for the charges he faced in association with his dealings with Doc Antle. Out of 19 indictments that were handed down on Oct. 8, 2020, by a Frederick County Circuit Court grand jury–two felony counts of selling an endangered animal, eight misdemeanor counts of selling an endangered animal, eight misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of depriving an animal of food and/or water against Keith Arnold Wilson–all were dismissed by the Virginia Attorney General's Office.

Additionally Wilson faced some 45 charges of animal cruelty, while his nephew who helped run Wilson’s Wild Animal Park faced 46 charges of animal cruelty. In the end, however, neither of them were held accountable for even a single charge. Rather, Wilson agreed to testify agains Doc Antle, with whom he worked to illegally traffic protected species. In exchange for his help, all charges against him were dropped and subsequently neither he nor his nephew faced any fallout for their actions.

One can still hold out hope that Bhagavan Antle will be held accountable for his abuse and exploitation and be forced to bear genuine repercussions on a Federal level, but we would not recommend holding your breath over the matter. In 2023, facing a lengthy Federal trial, Antle instead plead guilty to guilty to violating the Lacey Act in association with federal conspiracy and money laundering charges. These charges pertained to Antle having directed the sale or purchase of two cheetah cubs, two lion cubs, two tigers and one juvenile chimpanzee between the years of 2018 and 2020. Now, Antle faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release for each count.

Which in theory, means Antle could be on the hook for 35 years in federal prison, $1.75million dollars in fines, and 21 years of supervised release, if he were to receive the maximum penalty for every charge, and be forced to carry out the terms consecutively. If that happened, Antle would be in prison until he was 99 years old, barring early release.

It is extremely unlikely that Antle will ever face such a sentence, however. When one considers his lengthy history of USDA violations (some 36 stretching back decades, and many more threatened which he avoided by updating or fixing issues after warnings) his age, his handiness with shuffling funds, and the fact that he chose to plead guilty, rather than go to trial it seems much, much, more reasonable to presume that Antle will be offered concessions and minimal repercussions. Especially considering that we’ve been unable to find any specification of precisely how many violations of the Lacy Act Antle actually plead guilty to. As the case is ongoing, complete information is not available, and the only confirmation we’ve been able to obtain is that Antle ‘plead guilty to violating the Lacy Act’, which reads in a singular fashion, despite that it’s in relation to multiple animals and instances.

With sentencing for the federal crimes having been moved, and no current date even set for sentencing, CWW expects that Antle will, in the end, receive little more than a slap on the wrist. Minimal jail time–if any at all–and nominal fines, which Antle will probably try and avoid every paying. Even if we find ourselves in a best case scenario, and Antle is banned from operating within the US, he has already set up an international business which would allow him to continue profiting by carrying out African Safaris, which directly fund his Endangered Species Fund–the front under which Antle tries to frame his exploitation and abuse as ‘conservation’.

And with Antle’s children following in his footsteps of exploitation and abuse (his daughters, Tawny and Tilakam are currently facing charges of animal cruelty, while his son Kody has become a millionaire via social media, with over 5 million followers on Instagram and nearly 30 million followers on TikTok) it will take actual change within the US system to achieve any functional end to such things. Until that happens, Captive Wildlife Watchdog will be here continuing to educate the public and raise awareness about the exploitation of captive wildlife.