A Nevada resident who had seven tigers seized from his home this week now insists he was keeping the animals for “emotional support.”
Karl Mitchell, 71, was arrested for resisting a peace officer when authorities arrived at his home in Pahrump, about an hour outside Las Vegas, at about 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Nye County Sheriff's Office.
Officials said he had been violating special condition permits and ordinances regarding the ownership of the big cats for several years.
Mitchell, however, argued there was a reason he didn’t have a permit.
“My tigers are my emotional support animals,” he told News 3 in a jailhouse interview. “I’m a 100 percent disabled veteran with PTSD. The [Department of Veterinary Affairs] and my doctors have approved the tigers to work as support animals.”
Mitchell is currently being held at Nye County Detention Center in Pahrump while the tigers will be held at an undisclosed sanctuary, officials said. The exotic cats were being examined by a vet late Wednesday.
Photos shared by the sheriff’s office showed the tigers, including what appeared to be a rare white tiger, in cages.
The exotic animal owner, who runs Big Cats Entertainment, claims that the seven tigers seized by deputies were rescued from Joe Exotic, the disgraced reality TV star of Netflix’sTiger King.
The owner of the sprawling 19-acre property that Mitchell was renting told a local Fox News affiliate that deputies had informed the suspect that he did not have a permit to keep the tigers.
Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill confirmed that an investigation started several months ago.
He told the NBC affiliate that “we have known for several years, has had big cats on his property, and for the last two years, this has been in violation because he had no permits for those cats.”
According to Nye County code, it is illegal for a person, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity to sell, transfer, import, purchase or possess an animal that is classified as special conditions.
Mitchell’s girlfriend, Catherine Griffiths, appeared to show a letter she alleged was from the VA about the tigers being prescribed as emotional support animals.
Mitchell told the local news station that the animals “did not deserve” to be seized.
“The animals did not deserve to be snatched up, knocked out with drugs shipped across the country when they were happy and content where they had lived for more than 10 years,” he said.
Mitchell, who has reportedly been in possession of the tigers for the past seven years, has been involved in numerous legal battles over the animals, a local ABC News affiliate reported.
He has also been cited multiple times for violating basic animal care standards and once had his license for owning exotic animals revoked by the federal government.
The Independent has contacted the agency for more information.
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