Antle was sentenced to one year and one day behind bars and a $55,000 fine, having pleaded guilty in November 2023, to trafficking exotic animals and money laundering. Antle admitted he had broken federal law as he bought endangered animals to keep at his South Carolina zoo.

Prosecutors said Doc Antle sold or bought cheetahs, lions, tigers and a chimpanzee without the proper paperwork for a decade.

But, after pleading guilty in November 2023 to trafficking animals and laundering money, he could now be facing 10 years in prison. The federal charges brought against him came to light after the Tiger King series aired, and he has remained on bail since his arrest in June 2022.