Netflix’s documentary series Tiger King introduced viewers to a host of characters in the world of big cat collecting, including Tim Stark, owner of Wildlife in Need in Charlestown, Indiana. Stark, who owns a variety of exotic species in his southern Indiana zoo, is known among Tiger King fans as a one-time trading partner of Joe Exotic.
As portrayed in Tiger King, exotic animal collectors form a tight-knit community in the United States. It’s no wonder that Tim Stark and Joe Exotic would cross paths. They built their relationship on the illegal breeding and selling of tiger cubs, trade that benefitted Stark’s “Tiger Baby Playtime” scheme. According to Louisville’s Courier Journal, this program provided Stark a steady income; Joe Exotic ran a similar gimmick at his animal park. After Exotic lost control of his park to his business partner, Jeff Lowe, Stark followed the money: he worked with Lowe to set up a new park in Oklahoma.
Tiger King fans know that Jeff Lowe’s involvement in the new park resulted in financial disaster. Lowe failed to provide his portion of the construction budget for the park, and he and Stark are still involved in legal battles over the ownership of several animals. Tim Stark’s troubles don’t end there: his life since Joe Exotic was arrested in a murder-for-hire plot has been a series of threatening remarks and legal hurdles. Stark still runs the Wildlife in Need park, but its future is unclear at best. He faces legal challenges from the Indiana Attorney General and the federal Department of Agriculture.
The lawsuits stem from allegations of animal neglect and abuse. Despite his assertion that the park’s exotic animals are part of his family, Tim Stark has a troubling history of mistreatment – a troubling recurrence in Tiger King. Another Courier Journal article lists some of the allegations against Stark, including the placement of an ostrich in an emu enclosure that resulted in the violent death of the bird and “putting 100 animals in a 28-foot trailer with no air circulation for 36 hours.” Over 30 of those animals perished. Due to his poor treatment of animals alone, Stark could lose his license to house exotic species. As he appeals that ruling, the Wildlife in Need park continues to run as normal.
Curtis Hill, Indiana’s Attorney General, has also accused the collector of embezzlement and neglecting to properly report a worker’s injuries. With Tiger King shedding a bright spotlight on the American community of big cat breeders, Stark’s troubles are unlikely to end soon. With the sheer number of allegations against him, Tim Stark will struggle to keep his park open.
Tiger King is full of hypocritical figures like Joe Exotic and Tim Stark. Even the name of Stark’s park, Wildlife in Need, is misleading. There, allegations persist that animals are needlessly – and sometimes horrifically – maimed and killed for the financial profit of the park. Tim Stark’s future in the industry is unclear, but he maintains that any attempt to take his animals could result in violence. In true Stark fashion, though, he has also suggested that his words are provocative and ultimately empty. This is a great way to look at Stark in general: his future in the exotic animal world is as uncertain as the man himself is unreliable.