Netflix’s Tiger King returned for a second season today, with the hit docuseries following Joe Exotic and his cat-owning associates after the events of season one.
While the two most popular figures to come out of the show – Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin – do feature throughout season two, the focus quickly turns to Jeff Lowe and Tim Stark after they take over Exotic’s GW Zoo.
Many viewers may be wondering who exactly Tim Stark is considering he played a small part in Tiger King’s first season but becomes a main character in these five new episodes – and we have the answer for you.
Read on for everything you need to know about Tim Stark – the founder of Wildlife in Need – and what happened to him.
Who is Tim Stark?
Tim Stark is the former owner of Wildlife in Need, a private zoo in Charlestown, Indiana.
As seen in Tiger King 2, six months after Joe Exotic was convicted of murder-for-hire against Carole Baskin, Stark became partners with Jeff Lowe and they began building a new zoo in Thackerville together with the animals from the GW Zoo.
However, the business partners fell out after Stark transported 112 animals from Charlestown to Thackerville and stopped on the way, leaving them in the truck overnight. The animals all subsequently died and Lowe kicked him off of the land.
In February 2020, the Indiana attorney general filed a lawsuit, supported by PETA, against Wildlife in Need, alleging animal abuse and neglect after the US Department of Agriculture ruled that the zoo “wilfully violated” the Animal Welfare Act.
A month later, an Indiana judge placed a temporary restraining order against Wildlife in Need, banning staff, volunteers or visitors from entering the big cat enclosures.
After Stark ignored the injunction and lost a series of court battles, Stark’s zookeeping licence was revoked and the zoo was closed, with more than 200 animals being removed from the property in September.
When an arrest warrant was taken out against Stark after he was accused of hiding animals set to be confiscated and threatening Indiana’s deputy attorney general, he went on the run but was eventually arrested in New York in October 2020.
Police believed that Stark was in possession of a live hand grenade, Courier Journal wrote, however it turned out to be a plastic toy.
In April 2021, an Indiana judge permanently banned Stark from owning any exotic and native animals in the future and was ordered to return any money meant for his business that he kept for himself, according to Complex.