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With people not working and students unable to participate in sports and normal activities, many people are turning to Netflix. Netflix has many trending documentaries including, most recently the “Tiger King” reaching 34 million views. I have broken down what's true and untrue about popular Netflix documentaries, along with additional information not included. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem & Madness: This 8 episode series focuses on people owning exotic pets, particularly those running their own “zoos” for profit. Animal rights activists see people owning exotic pets as exploitation and the exotic pet owners see it as a lifestyle choice and their right. This series focuses on exotic zoo owner Joe “Exotic” and animal rights activist, Carole Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue. Exotic’s zoo, called Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, bred big cats and allowed petting of these animals. This series interviewed others in the industry such as a shady exotic pet and “zoo” owner Doc Antle. Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin feud for years, exchanging lawsuits and threats. Joe Exotic even needed to bring a felon, Jeff Lowe, as an investor to stay afloat. Joe Exotic was convicted for a murder-to-hire scheme where he was paying someone to murder Carole Baskin. Likewise, federal authorities discovered 5 tiger skeletons buried on his property leading to him being convicted of 17 counts of animal abuse. However, Carole Baskin also has a troubling past. It is very likely she murdered her millionaire ex-husband, Don Lewis, who mysteriously disappeared. After her millionaire ex-husband disappeared, she changed her husband’s will to say “upon my disappearance” Carole receives my money. Everyone close to Don Lewis, his children, ex-wife, lawyer and business partner all suspect Carole. In like manner, Carole refused to let the police check her meat grinder for Lewis’s remains and her brother is a police officer at the police department investigating Lewis’s murder, raising eyebrows. Furthermore, Carole’s preserve for tigers has questionable conditions for animals and operates like a zoo, leading many to question her motives. Eventually, Doc Antle’s “zoo” was raided but he has not yet faced any criminal charges. At the end of this series, the Big Cat Public Safety Act is mentioned, which I review next. In the United States, 5,000 tigers live as pets but only 3,200 live in the wild worldwide. This series shows an incident in Ohio where tigers and other exotic pets are released by a deranged owner, causing a public safety risk. Fact & Fiction: Outside of the Tiger King, there are four states where there is no restriction on owning an exotic pet. Including the 4 states with no restrictions, 14 states have very limited restrictions, meaning you must register with the government but can still own an exotic pet. Another 13 states you can own certain exotic pets and not others. In other words, in 27, or more than half of U.S. states you can own some-type of an exotic pet. As for the Big Cat Public Safety Act, it bans breeding of big cats, any institution offering petting and private ownership of big cats; it does grandfather in current big cat owners. This bill has severe unintended consequences. According to a Syracuse.com interview with The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango, Jeff Taylor, this would lead to his zoo closing. This bill considers his zoo as private pet ownership. He also believes the Netflix documentary portrays private zoo owners in a negative light. Taylor does believe individuals should not own pet tigers. The Big Cat Protection Act has 227 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, including, 205 Democrats and 22 Republicans. In the Senate, this bill has 17 cosponsors. Proponents of this bill see private big cat pet ownership as abuse and exploitation and are willing to overlook good private zoos like in Chittenango. Opponents see it as their right or freedom and look past any potential exploitation. Joe Exotic and Doc Antle see breeding of big cats keeping the population alive. Another perspective is simply allowing states to regulate exotic pet ownership, as it is a reserved power and letting states determine what works best. A potential compromise might include allowing private zoos to operate that meet a certain standard of care while banning tigers as pets. Congressman John Katko (R-NY) is not currently a co-sponsor of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, but has introduced legislation called the HEART Act to expedite the process of placing rescued animals in safe homes and holding the perpetrators responsible for the cost of the animal’s recovery, instead of taxpayers. In December 2019, as mentioned in the December Priceless Briefing, President Trump signed the PACT Act, which had broad bipartisan support, into law. This law makes it a federal crime to intentionally torture any pet animal, along with videoing this animal abuse. Jeff Lowe, the business partner of Joe Exotic could face charges and Joe Exotic is likely not the end of the crackdown on animal cruelty. The Hillsborough County Sheriff is seeking new leads and tips about Carole Baskin’s ex-husband's disappearance and says it is “suspicious”. It is also reported that Carole Baskin’s ex-boyfriend, in addition to her ex-husband as reported in “Tiger King'' filed for a restraining order due to her threatening behavior. Also not mentioned in the film is Baskin’s animal sanctuary was cited for 26 animal rights violations in 1998. Another relevant fact regarding tiger extinction in the wild is that poaching is driven by none other than China because they eat tiger meat and falsely believe eating certain tiger parts cure infertility. Tiger meat is sold in Chinese wet markets which is also where the Coronavirus is suspected to be originated. When They See Us: Last year “When They See Us'' was a popular documentary about the Central Park 5 and exclusively portrayed their innocence. This case is about 5 teenagers convicted by a multi-ethnic jury of raping, New York investment banker, Tricia Melli and was left with severe and permanent brain damage. The five teens were: Kevin Richardson-14, Antron McCray-14, Yusef Salaam-15, Raymond Santana-15 and Kharey Wise-16. They were convicted by a multi-ethnic jury of rape but later had their sentences vacated/were exonerated. Fact & Fiction: Currently, there is a pending lawsuit by the prosecutor, of the Central Park 5, Linda Fairstein, suing Netflix over her portrayal. As a matter of fact, many testimonies and much evidence of their guilt was not included. A total of 37 teenagers who were “wilding” in Central Park, were brought in for questioning by police. Ten of which were charged with a crime and five were charged with rape. Melody Jackson, a friend of Wise, told police that he told her he participated in the crime. Beyond these admissions, Richardson admitted his guilt to Dennis Commedo. In 2002, serial rapist Matias Reyes admitted to being the sole rapist in the Central Park Jogger Case after the statute of limitations expired, meaning he could no longer be held accountable for the crime. Reyes’ DNA did match DNA found in a sock at the scene and the other Central Park 5 did not have DNA at the scene. DNA evidence was not sophisticated in 1989 when this occurred. Reyes admitted to this in order to get a cell transfer since he could no longer be punished and wanted to be transferred out of Wise’s block since he was afraid of his prison gang. However, doctors who treated Melli, dispute that there were multiple rapists based on her injuries. All that Reye’s DNA proves was that he was one of the other criminals involved that got away. The reason that New York County D.A. Robert Morgentheua vacated the sentence of the Central Park 5 was likely to help boost his chances in an upcoming election. Enjoy watching Netflix series, but verify and research the information presented for yourself.
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