'Tiger King's Doc Antle Sentenced to Prison for Wildlife Trafficking, Money Laundering
'Tiger King' Star Doc Antle Animal Handler Set to Be Caged ... For Wildlife Trafficking & $$$ Laundering
Published
Doc Antle -- the ponytailed big-cat handler from "Tiger King" -- just got slapped with a 12-month prison sentence ... after pleading guilty in a wild case involving dirty money and illegal wildlife dealings.
The Myrtle Beach Safari owner admitted to laundering more than $500K in what he thought was part of a human smuggling op, and also copped to violating the Lacey Act -- which bans illegal wildlife trafficking.
Now, he’s not only doing time, but also has to fork over $55K, give up three chimps, nearly $200K in assets, and serve three years of supervised release once he's out of prison.
His co-defendants have already been sentenced -- and one guy even admitted to selling him a newborn chimp.
The whole thing dates back to a 2022 bust, when the feds hauled Doc in for allegedly running a years-long wildlife trafficking scheme.
At the time, he was still operating his Myrtle Beach sanctuary during his "Tiger King" fame days -- so some of those animals may’ve been part of the tourist trap.
Howard Baskin -- husband of Carole Baskin -- tells TMZ ... “While we would certainly have preferred a longer sentence, having him spend at least some time locked in a cage and experiencing at least some degree of what he has subjected animals to for over 40 years is a major victory in our opinion for law-enforcement and for animal welfare."
He continues, "Hopefully continued scrutiny will eventually lead to the closing of his operation and the end to the mistreatment of so many animals.”