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.
Mitchell initially accompanied deputies who were walking around the property during the raid Wednesday but refused to hand over keys to the tiger cages so a veterinarian and wildlife refuge workers could inspect and take custody of them, according to a report from the sheriff’s office.
The seven tigers were seized from Mitchell’s home and evaluated by a veterinarian who was on site during their removal, the sheriff’s office said. The cats will be taken “to an undisclosed sanctuary where they will be held until ordered to be released,” it said.
Court documents filed as recently as 2020 show a back-and-forth between Mitchell and Nye County, including the county’s asking Mitchell to move animals from his property and lawsuits he filed in response asking for over $1 million in damages.
Mitchell and his wife allege in a lawsuit they filed in 2020 that the county “has intentionally interfered” with their “business and private life” and caused extreme distress “due to the threat of the County taking what the County has recognized as their emotional support animals.”
Mitchell was charged with resisting a peace officer and booked into the Nye County Detention Center in Pahrump, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies also found a handgun in his possession, triggering a charge of possession of a gun by a prohibited person, as he has been convicted of a felony.
Mitchell was released on $6,000 bail the same day, officials said. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McGill said more charges can be filed in the near future, adding that a couple of the animals “visibly appeared to be underweight” and that some of their water dishes had algae growing in them, KSNV reported.
Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi said his office “has not received any report or request for prosecution” in connection with Mitchell.
Mitchell is expected to appear in court May 15, according to court records.
This article by Mirna Alsharif was first published by NBC News on 7 April 2025.
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