Tiger King’s Doc Antle arrested in Horry County by FBI

Antle’s Virginia case is scheduled for trial in October, according to online court records. 

His daughter, Tawny Antle, was also charged with one count of violating the Endangered Species Act in connection with the Virginia case. She is scheduled to go to trial in October, according to online court records.

In February, Doc Antle was sued by a Socastee woman who said she was attacked by a monkey that had wandered away from Antle’s property, according to court records.

Shirley Ann Smothers said in her civil lawsuit that she was startled by a noise on her back deck on April 21, 2021.

“When she opened her back door, she noticed a monkey sitting on the railing of her deck looking at her,” the lawsuit stated. “Almost immediately after Defendants’ monkey noticed the Plaintiff, it lunged at her and attacked her while she stood in her doorway, biting on her left arm before she could get it off of her.”

The lawsuit said Smothers suffered painful injuries, had to undergo a series of rabies treatments “and was traumatically frightened to the point of causing her extreme anxiety and paranoia.”

She is seeking damages and compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress.

In an answer filed in March, Antle denied the woman’s allegations and asked the court to dismiss the complaint.

Last month, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) publicly urged federal and state authorities to investigate Antle’s work with a nonprofit, the Rare Species Fund (RSF).

“The RSF often touts international wildlife conservation when soliciting donations from the public, but as PETA details in letters sent to the IRS, the South Carolina secretary of state, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Antle appears to use most of those charitable funds to subsidize the for-profit Myrtle Beach Safari,” the organization wrote in a news release. “There, he breeds big cats, prematurely separates cubs from their mothers, and forces them and other animals into stressful and dangerous public encounters—activities that do not benefit the animals’ well-being and have no conservation value.”