LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The man who owned a controversial southern Indiana zoo can't have any more exotic animals.
A ruling was issued from the Marion Superior Court on Tuesday against Tim Stark. The court says the owner of Wildlife in Need can't have or own any exotic or native animals including all mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The court also says Stark has to return all funds and assets he took from Wildlife in Need for his own use.
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill accused Stark of misusing money to pay his property taxes and using money from the CARES Act — which was loaned to businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic — to pay his credit card bills. Hill is also accusing Stark of misusing corporate money from the zoo in the hopes of opening another zoo in Oklahoma with one of the stars from the Netflix docuseries "Tiger King."
Stark lost his license and his animals last year after challenges in court. Stark's animals were seized and taken to the Indianapolis Zoo.
After documenting more than 120 violations of the Animal Welfare Act, a USDA judge in February 2020 pulled the zoo's license to exhibit warm-blooded animals, which include the big cats, monkeys and bears. According to a 183-page USDA report, Stark has harassed federal inspectors over the years, failed to provide proper veterinary care to some sick or dying animals and even beat a young leopard to death with a baseball bat.
The board of directors had also voted to dissolve the non-profit, Wildlife in Need, in Charlestown.
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