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U.S.|Man’s 7 ‘Emotional Support’ Tigers Seized in Nevada
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/us/tigers-nevada-arrest-joe-exotic.html
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The local authorities arrested Karl Mitchell, who claimed he had been authorized by a doctor to keep the tigers.
April 7, 2025, 5:21 p.m. ET
A Nevada man was arrested last week after seven tigers that he claimed were his emotional support animals were seized from his property, the local authorities said.
Karl Mitchell, 71, was arrested on Wednesday at his property in Pahrump, an unincorporated town in Nye County about 50 miles west of Las Vegas, on charges of resisting arrest and possession of a gun by a prohibited person, according to records from the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.
A SWAT team had entered the property to seize the tigers, which the Sheriff’s Office said Mr. Mitchell had been keeping without the permit required by the county. Mr. Mitchell refused to provide keys to the tiger cages and was then arrested just before 8 a.m., according to the documents. A handgun was also found in the bedroom of Mr. Mitchell, who is a felon, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Mr. Mitchell was released later that evening, according to the records.
Sheriff Joe McGill of Nye County told KSNV, the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, that the investigation into Mr. Mitchell, who was also being evicted from his property, had begun several months ago. “We have known for several years he 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,” Sheriff McGill said.
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Sheriff McGill added that his office had received information over the years indicating that Mr. Mitchell was seen walking the tigers in and around the property in the desert.
