The long-lasting Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic feud has resurfaced. Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue has received control over The G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma due to a ruling on Monday according to The Hollywood Reporter. The ruling established that Exotic (real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage) fraudulently transferred the zoo properties to his mother, Shirley M. Schreibvogel, in 2011 to protect his zoo from legality battles with Baskin’s sanctuary in Florida. Jeff Lowe who is currently running Exotic’s park, has 120 days to vacate the property.
“Schreibvogel later admitted under oath that the zoo land was transferred to her by Joe Maldonado to remove it from the reach of creditors, including BCR, should BCR win its Florida lawsuit,” the complaint stated, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Schreibvogel also admitted in 2015, via a confession of judgment she entered into to resolve a lawsuit filed against he by the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee overseeing Joe Maldonado’s personal bankruptcy estate, that the zoo land was fraudulently transferred to her by Joe Maldonado in 2011 to avoid his creditors.”
Exotic is currently serving 22 years in prison for paying a hitman $3,000 to kill Baskin as well as falsifying animal records and violating the Endangered Species Act, featured in the Netflix’s globally viral docuseries Tiger King. Recently, Exotic has spent time in a Dallas-Forth Worth Medical Center due to being possibly exposed to the COVID-19 virus, according to Deadline. Exotic’s twitter account was also updated Monday, the day of the ruling, including a letter Joe wrote in prison.
With the popularity the series received, side projects and adaptions are being made with Nicolas Cage (National Treasure) and Kate McKinnon (The Spy who Dumped Me), in two different TV series projects. These projects are currently in the works, with no confirmed release date.