Beneath the Tiger King

The world of the Tiger King has ruined the lives of many people as well as countless animals. Joe Exotic exploited his animals for a shot at profit and fame. Carole Baskin focused on crushing any competition who shared views contrary to her beliefs. Jeff Lowe conned his way into a Midwestern roadside zoo with his don't care attitude that managed to create enemies on both sides. PeTA swooped in at the last minute to aide a former enemy but has a history of lies and abuse of its own. These are the different sides of a story too crazy for a fiction novel. My name is Samuel Crowell and I had the uncanny bad luck to choose Joe Exotic as my employer, but the foresight to remove myself from the bad life choices before my life was irreparable like many both before and after me. Over the past few months I have seen my previous lifestyle plastered across social media bringing back both positive and negative memories. I was one of the lucky ones to escape this lifestyle and I have decided to write a book about my experiences. Being one of the lucky ones that escaped I am still reminded of the faults of my past. I left Joe in 2010 and never looked back. For the 10 years that I started my life all over again Joe continued to ruin the lives of many others as well as continue to exploit and abuse countless animals. Exit 64 in Wynnewood Oklahoma was advertised as a once in a lifetime attraction for many and as a dream for animal lovers when in reality it was a nightmare for all involved. This GoFundMe is an attempt to right the wrongs created at the property of the once GW Exotic Animal Park. For years this property has been the home of abuse at the hands of Joe Exotic, only to be further exploited by Jeff Lowe and now Carole Baskin when in reality all parties involved only care about personal profit rather than animal preservation. I propose a different option. What if exit 64 in Wynnewood Oklahoma became a home to a true animal sanctuary where the enclosures for the animals were measured in acres rather than feet. There are more tigers and lions in captivity now then there are in the wild and there are very few options for these magnificent animals. Non-profits such as PeTA believe that there should be no animals in captivity and to achieve their goal all animals in captivity should be put to death. Non-profits such as the once Joe Exotic and Jeff Lowe continue to breed, pretending to be helping to keep the species alive when in actuality they are creating a larger problem. Non-profits such as Big Cat Rescue are vehemently against breeding, but still choose to exploit by allowing tours and visitors whole condemning others for the same actions. The one thing that all of these Non-profits have in common is that their ultimate goal is to profit. I propose a different solution. the once known home of GW Exotic Animal Park can be the home to a true Sanctuary, where the enclosures will be large enough for the animals to roam with strict rules on acreage required per animal. The end goal is a forever home for the animals that have no choice, but to live the rest of their life in captivity. As of now there is no option for these animals to be released back into the wild, but we can make their lives as close to that of the wild as we can. With your help we can make something positive from the years of negativity that have came out of Exit 64. The following link is a reddit post about my experiences with Joe Exotic https://www.reddit.com/r/TigerKing/comments/fma7le/i_worked_for_joe_for_5_years_ask_away/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share