Court awards Carole Baskin control over Joe Exotic's zoo

Court awards Carole Baskin control over Joe Exotic's zoo

The Tiger King's kingdom has fallen! Joe Exotic's former zoo now belongs to his nemesis Carole Baskin.

Carole Baskin Netflix
Carole Baskin/YouTube (Netflix)

Animal rights activist and big-cat lover Carole Baskin has officially been handed the keys to a private Oklahoma zoo that once belonged to Joe Exotic.

Carole and Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, both appeared on Netflix's hit true-crime docuseries, 'Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness'.

A judge found the Oklahoma zoo property was fraudulently transferred to Joe's mother a few years ago and ruled on Monday that the premises be vacated within 120 days. 

The zoo animals also have to be removed. 

According to TMZ, Carole's Big Cat Rescue corporation won a $1-million (R17-million) trademark lawsuit against Joe and his mother in 2013. Joe did not pay-up. He later transferred ownership of the zoo to his mom and former friend, Jeff Lowe.

The property is now being used to "satisfy" the $1-million debt.

Carole and Joe have been involved in a long-running feud that ended with Joe being sentenced to 22 years behind bars. 

The big-cat collector was found guilty last year for paying a hitman $3,000 (Over R53,000) to murder Carole. Unbeknownst to Joe, the FBI were onto him and he was swiftly arrested before he could carry out his murder-for-hire plot.  

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It looks like Carole is having the last laugh - or is that the last roar? 

Carole Baskin is often seen as the heroine in her beef with Joe Exotic. The activist has devoted her entire life to rescuing big cats and is a vocal critic of Joe Exotic and his zoo.

Joe accused Carole of being nothing but a glorified zookeeper trying to take out the competition. He also accused Carole of being involved in the disappearance of her husband, Howard Baskin, who has never been found since he went missing in 1977.

She has vehemently denied the accusation. Carole, like Joe, has been the subject of many memes, GIFs, and challenges on social media. 

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