ALTON, Ill. (KMOX) - If you happened to be at the Alton Square Mall in Illinois about 10 years ago to have your photo taken with a real tiger – you've met some animals that belonged to Netflix sensation Joe Exotic.
A baby tiger meet-and-greet was held at the Metro East mall in July 2010 as part of, Tigers in Need, a charitable cause that has been accused of displaying tigers before they were of legal age, animal abuse and funneling money said to be for charity back to a struggling zoo in Oklahoma, reports the Alton Telegraph.
"Critics alleged the tour, supplied with animals from Exotic’s menagerie, was actually an operation to funnel money back to his struggling zoo, under the guise of an unaffiliated non-profit. Exotic’s denied any accusations of wrongdoing," reports the Telegraph.
The mall banned events with exotic animals soon after the meet-and-greet, according to the Telegraph.
Part of the original article from 2010 is quoted in a blog post on BigCatRescue.org, which is the website of Joe Exotic's nemesis also introduced in the Netflix show, Carole Baskin:
Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as "Joe Exotic," is star of Netflix’s documentary “Tiger King.”
Joe is currently serving 22 years in prison for a murder-for-hire scheme on Baskin, an animal rights activist, who is also suspect of killing her husband 20 years ago.
He was found guilty of murder-for-hire, nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act, and eight counts of violating the Lacey Act by falsifying wildlife records.
The original article from the Telegraph is no longer public.