A Nevada man who was arrested Wednesday after seven tigers were seized from his home said they were his “emotional support animals.”
Officials raided Karl Mitchell’s home in Pahrump on Wednesday morning and arrested him on suspicion of resisting arrest. Mitchell, 71, did not have a special conditions animal permit to own the animals, which Nye County requires, and he violated other rules over the years, officials said.
“We have received information over the years that he has been seen walking the tigers loose around the property, off the property, in the desert,” Sheriff Joe McGill said in an interview with NBC affiliate KSNV of Las Vegas. “There have been social media posts from him with people interacting with the cats, which is also in violation.”
Mitchell told KSNV he did not need permits because the tigers are his emotional support animals and the public was not in any danger from them. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not recognize tigers as emotional support animals.
Mitchell also said he “rescued” the big cats from “Tiger King” Joe Exotic, the former Oklahoma zookeeper of Netflix fame who was convicted in a murder-for-hire case involving animal welfare activist Carole Baskin. He is serving a 21-year prison sentence.