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For immediate release:
June 15, 2021
Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382
Louisville, Kentucky. – The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana just ordered Tim Stark and Animals in Need (WIN) to pay $ 733,997.70 to PETA in attorney fees and costs associated with a successful Endangered Species Act (ESA) group lawsuit against Stark. Since PETA is already owed $ 19,234.40 in unpaid awards from Stark and WIN, the group will seek to collect a total of US $ 753,232.10… The following is a statement by PETA Foundation Litigation Director Asher Smith in response to the ruling:
For years, Tim Stark has mercilessly ripped off big cat babies from their mothers, removed their claws and used them as photo props to earn a deer, but now the long arm of the law has caught up with him. PETA hopes to get its due and warns other sloppy roadside zoos that they might be next.
As part of PETA’s ESA win, 25 big cats were donated to Stark and his former business partner Jeff Lowe, both of which were featured in King of tigers– to accredited reserves and Stark; his ex-wife Melisa Lane; and WIN are permanently deprived of the right to own or own big cats without court permission, as well as to prematurely separate the cubs from their mothers, remove the claws and use them in any cub care business. The US Department of Justice cited PETA’s victory in an ongoing lawsuit against Lowe.
In April, an Indiana court order also permanently prohibited Stark from “acquiring, owning and displaying any exotic or native animal, including all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.” He faces several criminal charges, including beating up a lawyer in the Indiana attorney general’s office and a hearing banning Stark from owning a firearm because he is a “dangerous man.”
PETA, whose motto is in part that “the animals are not ours to be used for entertainment” – opposes arrogance, a worldview focused on human superiority. For more information please visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…
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