PETA has learned of a new development in the Bhagavan “Doc” Antle case: According to a newly released government document, Antle is trying to sell Myrtle Beach Safari to “Sugriva Co LLC,” a company created by one of his romantic partners, China York, in a move made just days after Antle’s June 2022 arrest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) informed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) of the deal after York applied for a federal Animal Welfare Act exhibitor’s license, and the DOJ is now seeking to modify the conditions of Antle’s bond to prevent him from selling the roadside zoo and/or transferring ownership of any animals protected under Endangered Species Act.
Antle was indicted on charges of alleged wildlife trafficking and money laundering, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday, June 30, 2022.
On June 6, Antle was charged with laundering more than $500,000.00, which federal prosecutors allege were proceeds from a scheme to smuggle people over the Mexican border into the United States, Associated Press reports.
In a press release to MyrtleBeachSC News, PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Welfare Debbie Metzler said the following, “In the face of potential prison time, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle is grasping at straws to try to keep his seedy roadside zoo going if he ends up behind bars. The U.S. Department of Justice is making the right call by seeking to stop this shady deal, and as the USDA investigates PETA’s complaint about Antle’s dangerous and exploitative big-cat encounters, PETA is urging the agency not to issue any more licenses to anyone seeking to exhibit animals from Myrtle Beach Safari or to purchase the company.“