Where is Tim Stark Now?

Tiger King‘ might come across as the documentation of the eccentric Joe Exotic, and his feud with Carole Baskin. However, the Netflix docuseries is so much more than that. It also offers a look into various exotic animal owners, and how they treat the creatures. Among the names that crop up is Tim Stark’s.

Joe’s partner, Jeff Lowe partners up with Tim until it sours, but we get the sense that Tim has his own money and an enviable collection of wild animals. Naturally, you might be curious about where Tim is currently. We have got you covered in that regard.

Who is Tim Stark?

Tim Stark was born in Sellersburg, Indiana. He attended the Silver Creek High School at Sellersburg and graduated as part of the class of 1983. It is unclear whether he had any further education, as his Facebook profile indicates that he studied at the ‘University of Life’.

He has a sister, Rhonda Stark, a niece, Camryn Renee, a nephew, Luke Stark, a sister-in-law, Dana, and two cousins, Susan Lord Jones, and Sherry Lord Reynolds. His profile also indicates that Tim moved to Charleston in 1994, where he is listed as the top dog at Wildlife in Need, Inc. Obviously, this is the small Indiana zoo, where Stark is the head.

Where is Tim Stark Now?

Currently, Stark happens to be embroiled in some controversy regarding the way he’s treated animals at Wildlife in Need. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revoked Stark’s license permanently, and he’s been ordered to pay $40,000 in penalties. His sanctuary has been instructed to pay $300,000 in civil penalties.

PETA had filed a case against Stark for over 120 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act between 2012 and 2016. Among the charges levied against him, Stark has been accused of declawing tiger babies before ‘play dates’ with the public. He’s also been accused of bashing a leopard to death with a baseball bat.

Once the case went to trial, it has been the court’s findings that Stark’s sanctuary went for months without an attending veterinarian. The USDA inspector was handed an official document with a forged signature from a vet who had not been in attendance for years.

During the trial, which actually took place on February 28, 2020, former staff member Scott Ehley was called to the stand. He’d been bitten by a hyena, while employed there, and he testified about the bad conditions, including cages which allowed animals like wolves to escape. He also testified that employees were not taught any protocols about handling these animals.

You can check out a tweet of Scott’s hyena bite below.

Hearing the case, the judge has allowed Indiana officials the permission to inspect the nonprofit’s animals, while both the officials and Stark have to abide by certain guidelines. The decision was made on March 2, 2020. Previously, on February 6, 2020, Stark had said in a profane interview that his zoo would remain open, despite coming under fire.

It seems that Wildlife in Need, located at 3320 Jack Teeple Rd, Charlestown, Indiana, is still very much open. In fact, there are VIP Sloth sessions, and LoveWins Interactive sessions, scheduled for March 21, 2020, as you can see here. As for Stark, his continued love for exotic animals, especially big cats, is evident from this image below.

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