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LOUIS THEROUX

AMERICA’S MOST

DANGEROUS PETS

INTERNATIONAL MASTER

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Louis Theroux: How safe is it for them to be outside? I

heard they bite your nose off.

UNKNOWN: Oh, no, no.

Louis Theroux: Well, it does happened.

UNKNOWN: Yes. My baby, come here to mama. He’s okay, he’s

just want to hold.

Louis Theroux: Hello, how do you do? Quite strong, isn’t he?

UNKNOWN: Yeah. Hey.

Louis Theroux: He’s quite strong. He’s gonna bite me, is he?

UNKNOWN: No, no.

Louis Theroux: Why do I think, he’s gonna bite me?

UNKNOWN: I don’t know.

UNKNOWN: It’s okay.

Louis Theroux: He’s not gonna bite my testicle.

UNKNOWN: He want you to hold him.

UNKNOWN: He’s gonna say (inaudible[0:00:38]).

Louis Theroux: Okay. Please don’t (inaudible[0:00:41]).

UNKNOWN: He’s kissing. Give him a kiss, give him kisses.

Louis Theroux: Oh, he’s lovely. Okay. Just read so much

about them ripping your face off. It’s actually quite nice.
I was on safari in the suburbs on the trail of wild
animals and wild animal almost returned dangerous jungle
creatures into human companions. So you don’t think animals
really want to be wild?

UNKNOWN: No, no, they’re not stupid.

Louis Theroux: Despite their risks, there is a large and

growing population of exotic animals who make their homes
here in America. A network of breeders and dealers who make
a living out of wildlife in captivity.

UNKNOWN: He totally decided one day, he was gonna be a tiger

and they couldn’t say to me, don’t shoot my tiger, just let
him eat.

Louis Theroux: I was hoping to find out if the practice is

fair on the animals or that it’s even safe and most of all
why anyone would want a tiger.

LOUIS THEROUX

AMERICA’S

MOST

DANGEROUS

PETS

Louis Theroux: G.W. Exotic Animal Park is a not for profit

zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma with one of the largest big cat
collections in the world. I’ve arranged with park owner Joe
Schreibvogel better known as Joe Exotic to spend a few days
at the park. But my arrival had coincided with some
unpleasant news.
Joe Schreibvogel: We’re gonna go do this rescue quick and
we’ve got just a limited time. Okay, by early afternoon,
they’ve forecast a tornado outbreak. This is gonna be some
of your first experience. So as soon as we get back, all the
animals are going in lock down. Okay, put all the cats in,
in lockdown, the chimps are going in lockdown, all the
primates are going on lockdown and we’re gonna get prepared
for the worst. I’ve never in my life seen what they put on
TV as far as a warning. It’s gonna get that bad.

Louis Theroux: You think, there could be a tornado on the

way here?

Joe Schreibvogel: That’s what they’re calling for.

Louis Theroux: You have how many tigers here?

Joe Schreibvogel: I’m having 76.

Louis Theroux: So you could release the tigers into.

Joe Schreibvogel: It can be a disaster.

Louis Theroux: Into Oklahoma city.

Joe Schreibvogel: Could be a disaster.

Louis Theroux: These are captive bred tigers. Are they not,
they’re not wild born tigers, so in a sense, they are tamed.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah, right, they’re not gonna be as

dangerous as a wild tiger was to be out there but the only
hazard is what the people would do to approach them, you
know, because these tigers would think that you wanted to
play.

Louis Theroux: What do I do, if I, I mean, can I help if

there is an emergency?

Joe Schreibvogel: (inaudible[0:03:40]). We have enough guns.

Louis Theroux: It would be sad, it would be sad, if.

Joe Schreibvogel: That would be a horrible thing.

Louis Theroux: It would be sad, if you had to shoot a bunch
of tigers.

Joe Schreibvogel: It would be horrible, very horrible.

Louis Theroux: Would you do that?

Joe Schreibvogel: I would have to.

Louis Theroux: In previous lives, Joe had been a cop and a

pet store owner. He was still occasionally a magic
entertainer. Joe’s park has more than 200 big cats including
lions, tigers and a rare half lion, half tiger cross breed
called a Liger. Many of the animals are rescued and rehomed
from private owners who could no longer take care of them.

Joe Schreibvogel: Okay, let the fun begin.

Louis Theroux: Tornado is still a few hours away. Joe had an

appointment to rescue some more animals.

Joe Schreibvogel: Tornado scare me more than tigers.

Louis Theroux: Why?

Joe Schreibvogel: Is at least, you can fight back with a

tiger. There is no fighting back with a tornado.

Louis Theroux: One of the pitfalls of exotic pet ownership

is that animals that are manageable when small become more
of a burden as they mature.

Joe Schreibvogel: Hey (inaudible[0:04:57]),

UNKNOWN: How are you doing?

Joe Schreibvogel: Been years. You don’t look whole lot

different, and our grayer.

UNKNOWN: Yeah, a little bit, a little bit.

Louis Theroux: How are you going to attempt this Joe?

Joe Schreibvogel: Well, that’s always (inaudible[0:05:06])

discussed, which one, we want to do first.

Louis Theroux: Are you gonna tranquilize them?

Joe Schreibvogel: Well, we’re gonna, we’re gonna have to
tranquilize a leopard. A leopard is a little more
aggressive.

Louis Theroux: Yeah.

Joe Schreibvogel: Than tigers are.

Louis Theroux: Why do you have them?

UNKNOWN: It’s just something, I always wanted to have ever

since I was a little kid.

Louis Theroux: It’s just pets.

UNKNOWN: Yeah, yeah. I’ve always loved them

Louis Theroux: How come you’re having to get rid of the

animals?

UNKNOWN: I’ve hurt my back a couple of years ago and I can’t

really get in there work with them or do anything with them,
so.

Joe Schreibvogel: So he’s rehoming them to the best facility

in the country.

UNKNOWN: Yep.

Louis Theroux: The cargo for this outing would be

(inaudible[0:05:39])tigers Madonna and Big Boy and his
leopard Jade.

Joe Schreibvogel: Come here, girl, come here sister. Come

here sister.

Louis Theroux: The first job to put them to sleep.

Joe Schreibvogel: That’s all, I made it. This will be

painless. There you go. Goodnight. There you go. Yep.

Louis Theroux: You know, these are amazing animals and you
would think, they would have a value. Is there not a big
market for fully grown tigers for private buyers?

Joe Schreibvogel: There is no market.

Louis Theroux: No.

Joe Schreibvogel: None. You couldn’t, you couldn’t sell that

tiger today for a hundred dollars. There is too many out
there to give away. I have a 176 of them.

Louis Theroux: Back at Joe’s park, Jade, Madonna and Big Boy
were introduced to their new lodgings.

Joe Schreibvogel: There you go. It’s still sleepy. One, two,
three. Oh, oh, oh. Okay, now this is what be quiet, keep him
in the shape. (inaudible[0:07:13]) cats. We are right here.
Here is where we just were. Here is (inaudible[0:07:26])
valley. It’s estimating in the next hour and a half, it’s
gonna be big enough to start producing tornados.

Louis Theroux: Are you nervous?

Joe Schreibvogel: Always nervous. We gotta be locked up just

kept in darkness.

Louis Theroux: Before the tornado hit, all the animals would
have to be locked indoors.

Joe Schreibvogel: Come on, one more, one more time.

Louis Theroux: Joe, are they, are they chimpanzees?

Joe Schreibvogel: Dance. Turn around. Turn around. There we

go.

Louis Theroux: Would you get in there with them?

Joe Schreibvogel: No.

Louis Theroux: No, why not?

Joe Schreibvogel: They’re dangerous. Yeah. It would be, it

would be stupid for me to get in with them because they,
they would, they would hurt me, then they would get a bad
name, so. We just play through the bars.

Louis Theroux: They don’t look threatening.

Joe Schreibvogel: They’ll, they’ll lure you in, okay and
they’ll be really, really lovable and (inaudible[0:08:23])
get ya and it’s, it’s a game to them.

Louis Theroux: Have you, have you locked these down now?

Joe Schreibvogel: Cleaning the inside and then they’re

feeding inside and they’re no go in lock.

Louis Theroux: Not going in lockdown for the tornado. Are we

okay to come in? Is it safe?

Joe Schreibvogel: Get him, get him. All right,

(inaudible[0:08:45]) secure and lockdown. What, what is
that? What? Monique is in heat.

Louis Theroux: Which one is Monique?

Joe Schreibvogel: The tiger. It’s actually, it’s a Liger.

Louis Theroux: And what’s a Liger?

Joe Schreibvogel: A Liger mom and a white tiger dad. See

normally, he wouldn’t growl at you. Hey, hey, that’s your
girlfriend, tell him. Yup.

Louis Theroux: Do you like it when they do that to you?

Joe Schreibvogel: We don’t encourage that. If she was to get

you, he would not kill you and eat you right away. He’s
going to torment you. So if you are to get in there and I
was out here trying to get you out, he would be on top of
you, covered you up because you’re his. I’d just shoot you,
it would be more humane.

Louis Theroux: You will shoot me?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: In the head?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah. Because I’m not gonna get you back.
So I’ll make you suffer. If I ever got attacked by a lion
like that, shoot me please. Yeah, that would go on for hours
unless, you shot the lion.
Louis Theroux: Yeah, that would make more sense, shoot the
lion.

Joe Schreibvogel: Here we go. This man across the street

from us, he has 200 horses. So imagine 200 horses and a 176
tigers in the same mess.

Louis Theroux: (inaudible[0:10:33]) on the tiger.

Joe Schreibvogel: It wouldn’t look good.

Louis Theroux: The national weather service in Norman has

issued a tornado warning 4, extreme in Wynnewood.

Joe Schreibvogel: That’s us.

Louis Theroux: Precautionary preparedness actions. Take

cover now. Under no circumstances be around wild animals,
tigers, lions especially and chimpanzees. What do you see?

Joe Schreibvogel: A tornado. Just over that gift shop

practically eight miles away.

Louis Theroux: You seem excited.

Joe Schreibvogel: I am, yeah.

Louis Theroux: The day before in neighboring Missouri, the

tornado had killed more than a 150 people.

Joe Schreibvogel: You want to go in before it gets really

bad? This is gonna blow straight at you. Oh, that’s not a
good sign. (inaudible[0:11:48]). Here we go. We got angels
are shining on us. They’re keeping us from getting hurt.
Look at that way. Look at better way. It’s just here. Got
(inaudible[0:12:10]), oh, yeah, it’s gonna go away because
they got (inaudible[0:12:14]).

Louis Theroux: If our luck was in, there would be no tigers

shot tonight.

[music]

Louis Theroux: The next day and with the extreme weather out
of the way, it was time for a tour of the park. What’s going
on here?
Joe Schreibvogel: You want to sit in and play with them?

Louis Theroux: There is a bear in a.

Joe Schreibvogel: With a tiger.

Louis Theroux: They’re kind of cuddling.

Joe Schreibvogel: They’re cuddling, they’re buddies. Come

in. Hey, come here, why, sit down here.

Louis Theroux: How old is she?

Joe Schreibvogel: Uh…, she’s about four months.

Louis Theroux: Why have you put a tiger in with a bear? It’s
scary, it’s scary.

Joe Schreibvogel: These two maybe able to stay together

forever and then they might not.

Louis Theroux: Why would you want that?

Joe Schreibvogel: It would be awesome.

Louis Theroux: Why?

Joe Schreibvogel: Because they’re two species, they get

along, that would just go to show as an educational tool
here in our park that no matter who we are, we should get
along.

Louis Theroux: You’re okay?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: There was, did that hurt?

Joe Schreibvogel: No.

Louis Theroux: Did that hurt?

Joe Schreibvogel: No. no, no, no. It did not.

Louis Theroux: Some, let’s say, let tigers be tigers. You

know, let them be true to their tiger nature, which…
Joe Schreibvogel: What is a tiger nature?

Louis Theroux: Well, I did.

Joe Schreibvogel: To kill?

Louis Theroux: Yeah, to kill not to be cuddling with a bear.

Joe Schreibvogel: He’s in captivity, he will never be a

tiger.

Louis Theroux: So what will he be then?

Joe Schreibvogel: A tiger in captivity. Now it hurts.

Louis Theroux: So what kind of life is that for a tiger

then? I mean, do you think they’re happy when they.

Joe Schreibvogel: Oh, shit. That one hurt. The question was…

Louis Theroux: How happy is a tiger in an enclosure? In the

wild, they roam for hundreds of miles and it’s such a
restrict, it’s such a restricted existence, isn’t it?

Joe Schreibvogel: Can, can you miss something you’ve never

experienced? This cat has never been in to roam 200 miles,
so how can he miss that? It’s gonna like, if you were born
in a wheelchair, are you sure, you’re gonna be happier
walking instead of riding? Because you’ve never walked.

Louis Theroux: Though Joe rescues and rehomes unwanted

animals, he also breeds them. The practice is controversial.
Animals right groups have accused Joe of creating more
surplus tigers, calling Joe’s park as scamtuary. He invited
me to meet some of his latest arrivals at his home. Am I
right in thinking you have a fairly newborn tiger in here?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: Called…

Joe Schreibvogel: Not named yet.

Louis Theroux: Not even named yet. How old?

Joe Schreibvogel: Eight days.

Louis Theroux: Can we meet him?

Joe Schreibvogel: I mean, they are asking Paul, if he’s fed

him. If he’s isn’t as been fed, we can feed him.

Louis Theroux: Who’s Paul?

Joe Schreibvogel: Paul, one of my help.

Louis Theroux: One of your…

Joe Schreibvogel: Other, other significant others.

Louis Theroux: (inaudible[0:15:46]) in your life.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yes, sir.

Louis Theroux: Is that difficult?

Joe Schreibvogel: No.

Louis Theroux: What about jealousy, sexual jealousies

between, between the three of you?

Joe Schreibvogel: It never happens with all three of us.

Louis Theroux: Really?

Joe Schreibvogel: Really.

Louis Theroux: And that works?

Joe Schreibvogel: Works awesome. Because we’re well too

tired to have sex. This is my youngest.

Louis Theroux: How old?

Joe Schreibvogel: Eight days. (inaudible[0:16:12]). Okay.

Louis Theroux: So how old was he when he was taken from his
mum?

Joe Schreibvogel: I’ve fed him from the minute, he was still
wet?

Louis Theroux: Really.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: Why breed them?

Joe Schreibvogel: So, so in 10 to 15 years, when there is no

left in the wild, we have some in captivity to replace the
wild.

Louis Theroux: You do think, they’ll extinct in the wild.

Joe Schreibvogel: I know, they will.

Louis Theroux: Would it make more sense to prioritize, umm…

conserving their habitats in the wild rather than be
producing more tigers in captivity?

Joe Schreibvogel: Well, you know, there is, there is people,

there is people that are working on that but unfortunately,
we have more powers higher than us destroying the habitat.

Louis Theroux: How will you raise this one?

Joe Schreibvogel: This one will be raised to know us.

Louis Theroux: To know you.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yes.

Louis Theroux: You’ll be that tiger’s mum in effect.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yup, this is like.

Louis Theroux: In a way, you’re raising the tiger to be half

tiger, half human, to be tamed in other words.

Joe Schreibvogel: No, well, we’re gonna, I’m gonna raise him
to be a tiger and best human.

Louis Theroux: Why is he, is he okay?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah, he’s, every time after they feed,

they do that. Okay, so raising him to respect me and I
respect him enough that we both can stand there and teach
you about his native land.

Louis Theroux: His native land is America.

Joe Schreibvogel: Well his grand great, great, great
grandfather, you know, land is Siberia, Russia. So we’re
going to grow up together and teach you how to respect
Russia, (inaudible[0:17:50]) ever been there.

Louis Theroux: So he’s serving an ultimate purpose to do

with conservation in your view. So in a way, you’re making
certain practical concessions for the long term benefit of
its…

Joe Schreibvogel: Right, right.

Louis Theroux: The Joe’s animal ambassadors do serve another

purpose. One of the main ways the park pays for itself is
through an exotic animals road show. Joe’s breeding program
is needed to provide cubs for interactions for the public.
You’ve been here all week, is that right?

UNKNOWN: Uh… We started yesterday. We’ll be here through

Sunday, set up everyday.

Louis Theroux: Who’s going in these two?

UNKNOWN: This one is Ferdy and this one here on your right
is (inaudible[0:18:43]) cat.

Louis Theroux: (inaudible[0:18:44]) is one of the bigger,

who is Furgy. And the bear?

UNKNOWN: The bear, she stays on the other side over there.

Louis Theroux: You’ve been on the road more or less

continuously since January is that right?

UNKNOWN: No, yeah, I mean for almost a year, we’ve been

continuously on and off the road.

Louis Theroux: And the animals, they’ll be on the road for

maybe a couple of months?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

Louis Theroux: And how do you think, they like it? Because
some might be always a bit stressful for them being trucked
around like that?
UNKNOWN: It’s not stressful for them at all. They’re very
content, very happy and they enjoy coming out and getting
attention.

UNKNOWN: (inaudible[0:19:24]) on the weekend probably about

$4000.

UNKNOWN: Olivia, can you look right here? Olivia

(inaudible[0:19:35]).

Louis Theroux: So that’s how it works.

UNKNOWN: Yes, that’s how it works. That’s how people can

help us out and hope they’ll have some memories to share
with their family.

Louis Theroux: The bear seems kind of presky, do you think,

it wants to run around.

UNKNOWN: She’s presky, yes she’s frisky, little bears are

frisky, they have a lot of energy.

Louis Theroux: Would you think, they’re happy in the cages?

UNKNOWN: I don’t really want just to go any where else, stop

this, okay, as far as, they’re, she’s, I don’t want to say
anything else, okay. I just want to leave you, okay.

Louis Theroux: With that, you’re basically

(inaudible[0:20:10]) yes, they are (inaudible[0:20:13]).

UNKNOWN: Oh, yeah, absolutely, I mean, this is the life they

know and this is the life that they’re gonna be very happy
with.

UNKNOWN: I would love to have that bear.

Louis Theroux: You would like to have it as a pet?

UNKNOWN: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: What about when he grew up?

UNKNOWN: Oh, you know, I like to train animals. I’ve trained

dogs.

Louis Theroux: Have you seen a full size bear up close?

UNKNOWN: They’re large, large bear.

Louis Theroux: (inaudible[0:20:33]) right off.

UNKNOWN: Maybe (inaudible[0:20:38]).

UNKNOWN: I want a tiger, one of those little.

UNKNOWN: Yeah.

UNKNOWN: I don’t know about when they got big. Having one
like that would be (inaudible[0:20:46]).

UNKNOWN: Because they’re like playful.

UNKNOWN: It’s different like everybody has a dog, everybody

has like a cat. But no one has a tiger.

[music]

Louis Theroux: 700 miles away from Joe’s park in

Charlestown, Indiana is another self-styled sanctuary,
animals in need and indeed, owned and run by Tim Stark.
Where his animals are concerned, Tim has a hands on
philosophy.

Tim Stark: Are you ready to (inaudible[0:21:21]). You want

some of these.

Louis Theroux: I don’t know, if he’s enjoying that Tim.

Tim Stark: He loves it. (inaudible[0:21:41]). You know, a

lot of people joke around and call me Dr. Doolittle and I’ve
taken (inaudible[0:21:46]). I take care of
(inaudible[0:21:49]). I tell them I’m Dr. doctor do a lot,
I’m not doctor do little. You know.

Louis Theroux: Where are we actually going right now?

Tim Stark: Right here is the bears. You can see the four
bears I’ve got, come here over (inaudible[0:22:00]), come
here.

Louis Theroux: You’re comfortable, you said you’re

comfortable getting in with these bears.
Tim Stark: Oh yeah.

Louis Theroux: Shall we see you go in there? I mean, if

you’re comfortable doing that, you don’t feel that, you
really don’t feel it’s a risk.

Tim Stark: No, I don’t care, if I don’t come back out of

there. You know, I know, the risk I’m taking.

Louis Theroux: You don’t care, if you come back out again?

Tim Stark: This is what I do. If I died doing what I love to

do, so be it. Hi buddy, hey, come here,
(inaudible[0:22:27]). Come here.

Louis Theroux: This is Obedei.

Tim Stark: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: And what’s this one?

Tim Stark: Eli. I discipline him more because he’s a

troublemaker. So I get in here, so he’s, you know, he’s
leary (inaudible[0:22:38]), you know, look at me different.

Louis Theroux: How do you discipline him?

Tim Stark: Just mainly by voice commands, you know, because

he don’t like, move it, come on move it. He’s automatic, you
know, I’ve told him that from the time they were little.

Louis Theroux: Do they like it in here, do you think?

Tim Stark: Yeah, they seem to like it.

Louis Theroux: Just the pacing bother you?

Tim Stark: I’ve seen animals in the wild, step up to the

fence or whatever and pace back and forth. So, you know.

Louis Theroux: What about people who say these are wild
animals, you are going against their intrinsic nature by
pending them up even in a fairly big enclosure like this, it
doesn’t approach anything like what a bear would range in
the wild.
Tim Stark: Oh, what they need to understand, the main reason
that they have that larger territory out in the wild is not
because that animal chooses to travel that distance, that
animal has to travel that distance.

Louis Theroux: Do you take pleasure in those things that you

could call survival? The idea of finding food and making
sure you have what you need? Isn’t that in a way part of
what gives you a satisfaction in your life?

Tim Stark: A perfect example of that is if you see the bears

around your national parks, or in Alaskan
(inaudible[0:23:48]) closer to human population, where do
they go? They come to the human population. Why? Free food.

Louis Theroux: So you don’t think animals really want to be

wild.

Tim Stark: No, no. Their natural instinct is to survive but

they would much rather survive by having everything handed
to them, you know. They’re not stupid. What are you doing
brother. I know.

Louis Theroux: This is (inaudible[0:24:16]).

Tim Stark: this is Tatiana my baboon daughter.

Louis Theroux: Tatiana is about three years old.

Tim Stark: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: And she’s pretty safe for us to be around?

Louis Theroux: Oh, yeah, come here baby. Good. Here. I know,
I know why you want to play. She’s my little girl. I mean,
you know, me and her have a hell of a strong bond, I mean,
she’s, you know, she’s unreal. You know, I know a lot of
people that’s had baboons and usually once they get about
two years old, nobody messes with them because they are so
strong and can be so dangerous. If you don’t hurt her, she’s
just gonna grab you real close, she want you to hold her,
you know, she’s not a bit aggressive.

Louis Theroux: Okay.

Tim Stark: Yeah, you feel her belt right here.

Louis Theroux: Yeah.

Tim Stark: Just hold onto her belt.

Louis Theroux: Like that?

Tim Stark: Yup. And she’ll do (inaudible[0:24:59])that’s

more of her harness. She’s screaming over the mic, she
didn’t understand the mic.

Louis Theroux: The mic, it’s okay. Look at this, this is

interesting.

Tim Stark: She’s wanting to groom you, she’s just checking

you out.

Louis Theroux: It’s quite a nice feeling. But there is

something about her face, it’s a little bit off putting.

Tim Stark: Yeah. Now, now. You know, what she’ll

automatically scream, I go to get her back.

Louis Theroux: No, wait, wait okay, everything is fine.

She’s getting nervous when you get closer, that’s making me
nervous. Why are you making her nervous?

Tim Stark: Just for the fact, she don’t want her meal. She
wants to stay out, she’s getting attention.

Louis Theroux: She’s having fun.

Tim Stark: She loves the attention.

Louis Theroux: Okay, I don’t really want to touch her bum

that much, it’s one of the things.

Tim Stark: Yeah, it’s not a, it’s not very appealing, hold
onto her belt.

Louis Theroux: It’s definitely kind of baboon smell coming

off her.

Tim Stark: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: Do you wash her?

Tim Stark: She takes a bath with me.

Louis Theroux: A real bath?

Tim Stark: Yeah. No.

Louis Theroux: What do you think Tatiana’s quality of life

is like?

Tim Stark: Poor rotten black.

Louis Theroux: And so, umm…, but would you not think that a
baboon needs to be a baboon?

Tim Stark: For what purpose?

Louis Theroux: To live out its full function, to be who it

really is?

Tim Stark: And who are we as people to say, who it really

is, Tatiana. (inaudible[0:26:18]) get more off. Come here,
come here. Give him a kiss, give him kisses. Give him a
kiss, give him a kiss.

Louis Theroux: It was almost a kiss. Given the fact that

she’s female and I’m male, helps actually. There is a sort
of very faint kind of primate low level erotic dimension.

Tim Stark: I don’t know.

Louis Theroux: Tim’s park is only occasionally open to the

public to somewhere between a zoo and a private menagerie.
And though he calls it a sanctuary, he also breeds and many
of the animals were bought, not rescued. Though, he was once
a handyman, Tim no longer does paid work. His animals habit
is supported by his wife Melissa. When you met Tim, was this
part of Tim’s life back then?

Melissa: I knew deep down the passion that he had inside

that he had at that time, he didn’t have any animals at that
time. No.

Tim Stark: We got married in 94 and then in 97 is when I

acquired my first bobcat. Now look around that. I’ll put
myself in a vulnerable state when it comes to walking in a
bear cage. It’s just a, you know, I fear people, I have no
respect for people, I tell her all the time, you know, I
guess marriage is supposed to be based on trust and respect.
I refuse to trust or respect any single human being on this
planet. I don’t trust myself why would I want to trust
anybody else?

Louis Theroux: You don’t trust and respect your wife?

Tim Stark: No.

Louis Theroux: Back outside, Tim had one last surprise in

store.

Tim Stark: Come here.

Louis Theroux: Well, you said, this is against the law.

Tim Stark: (inaudible[0:28:13]) with animals out there.

Louis Theroux: What is our contingency plan at this point?

We go in here and we just wait, are you okay, Tim, is that
safe?

Tim Stark: Here it’s starting to rain a little too hard.

Louis Theroux: Is everyone okay. You’re comfortable? Which

tiger is that?

Tim Stark: This is a glacier.

Louis Theroux: We should, this probably have told this

through before you did it, Tim. If that tiger decides, he
doesn’t want to be on that leash anymore, there is not much
you can do about it.

Tim Stark: Lay back, lay back.

Louis Theroux: Is it safe for me to come out there?

Tim Stark: Oh, you can come over here, yeah. I’ve got him
under control, the best I can. Right now, he’s not going to
be able to lunge. I’ve got him short leashed right now.

Louis Theroux: He’s probably quite a bit stronger than you

are.

Tim Stark: Quite a bit.

Louis Theroux: So in a way, he’s got you by the leash, more
than you got him by it.

Tim Stark: Some what. Leave it, leave it. You know, he wants
to go see all the other animals. Leave it, leave it.

Louis Theroux: You need help Tim?

Tim Stark: Not a bit. I can handle it. Oh, you’re gonna get
the chair, you’re gonna break the chair. Oh, get out of
that.

Louis Theroux: In a way, you do enjoy my nervousness a

little bit?

Tim Stark: No, no.

Louis Theroux: Is it a bit like having a Harley or a big gun

or something where there is a thrill in the sheer power of
the thing.

Tim Stark: There is, there is some what of a thrill of

having them, you know, as far as, you know, you have them,
hey, chill, leave it. Fetch her, come on, fetch her, get up,
get up, get up, fetch her. Hey, just leave it, don’t worry
about him, worry about me. Good boy. People say all the
time, you’re mixing bloodlines, so that, you know, you never
know. I don’t know where these tigers come from. You know, I
have no clue. I don’t care. When I have a baby tiger born
here, you know, what it is to me? A damn baby tiger, you
know, I don’t give a damn what’s, they, you know, Siberian,
Sumatran, Bengal, it’s a damn tiger, you know, 100% tiger,
you know, I guarantee that.

[music]

Louis Theroux: At Joe’s, there was a new face at the park.

(inaudible[0:31:04]) hello, I haven’t met you properly.

John: John (inaudible[0:31:07]).

Louis Theroux: Nice to meet you.

John: Park manager.

Louis Theroux: How is it going?

John: Part-time.

Louis Theroux: You’re back?

John: I’m back and I still got a few more doctor visits to
go but I’m back.

Louis Theroux: You got a health situation.

John: Yeah, yeah. I’m missing a couple of feets, you know.

Louis Theroux: How did that happen?

John: I was actually, uh…, helping some friends of mine

testing an amusement ride they built and I was actually the
last live test and they failed.

UNKNOWN: We start (inaudible[0:31:36]). We have enough of

these.

Louis Theroux: Among the chores of the day, was attending to

the two tigers I’ve seen rescued. The issue is Madonna and
Big Boy won’t come into the cage together.

Joe Schreibvogel: Right.

Louis Theroux: So you can’t clean the cage.

Joe Schreibvogel: Right.

Louis Theroux: Why won’t they go in together?

Joe Schreibvogel: You know, I don’t know. Because they were

together when we picked them up, you know.
(inaudible[0:31:59]) would help too if Curtis would come
visit them.

Louis Theroux: He didn’t.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yes.

Louis Theroux: They’re depressed.

Joe Schreibvogel: They’re going through it, yeah.

Louis Theroux: Are they?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: Do you ever have to use animal for depression

or for not settling in?

Joe Schreibvogel: not yet.

Louis Theroux: It just doesn’t want to know, does he? Would

you feed him a popsicle?

Joe Schreibvogel: No, he wouldn’t eat a popsicle.

Louis Theroux: Joe was getting ready for his annual exotic
animal expo.

Joe Schreibvogel: (inaudible[0:32:31]), you put the food in?

UNKNOWN: Yeah.

Joe Schreibvogel: You can’t. He hasn’t washed yet. Okay. Set

the food on top, so it doesn’t get all wet.

UNKNOWN: Yeah, it’s a little bit tense, you know, like

anything you’re preparing for the last minute trying to get
all the finishing touches on it.

Joe Schreibvogel: You have not washed the cage, yet right?

UNKNOWN: No.

Joe Schreibvogel: So why you putting the dry food in

(inaudible[0:32:54]) cage with water?

Louis Theroux: Owners from around the country were

converging at Joe’s park, many with animal in tow for a
weekend of classes and training in taking better care of
their pets. When does it start Joe?

Joe Schreibvogel: Nine.

Louis Theroux: How many people have you got?

Joe Schreibvogel: Last time, we had probably 85 or 90

(inaudible[0:33:16]).

Louis Theroux: And you will be teaching, that’s the big

idea?
Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah, that’s right.

Louis Theroux: What do you teach?

Joe Schreibvogel: how to do this, how to handle, how to

shift, how to (inaudible[0:33:27])? This is Louis. Louis
from London.

UNKNOWN: Hi.

Louis Theroux: Nice to meet you.

UNKNOWN: Oh, yeah.

Louis Theroux: How are you doing?

UNKNOWN: I’m doing good.

Louis Theroux: You’re having fun?

UNKNOWN: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: Who’s your friend?

UNKNOWN: This is Emily.

Louis Theroux: Emily. Emily would be a (inaudible[0:33:46]).

UNKNOWN: Yes, she is.

Louis Theroux: Is she full grown?

UNKNOWN: Yes, she’s full grown.

Louis Theroux: What kind of relationship do you have?

UNKNOWN: We’ve got a great relationship. She goes every

where I go.

Louis Theroux: Hello.

UNKNOWN: Hi, how are you?

UNKNOWN: Hello.

Louis Theroux: My name is Louis.

UNKNOWN: Hi. How are you?

Louis Theroux: What’s her name?

UNKNOWN: Darla.

Louis Theroux: Darla.

UNKNOWN: She doesn’t like to touch somebody.

(inaudible[0:34:06]) like you to touch me. Yes, she does. I
mean, there in there, pet people tell me to take him out,
she’s a big girl, she wants them out, she’ll take them out.

UNKNOWN: They think, they’re beautiful, they really, when

you tell them they’re beautiful, they understand what you’re
saying.

Louis Theroux: Now, those ones that don’t have ears big
enough to get pierced.

UNKNOWN: No, I think, it would, I don’t think that I would

do it. They’re just so thin.

Louis Theroux: Your little necklaces now on them. You have

Emily’s picture in a frame there around your neck?

UNKNOWN: Yeah, they lock our (inaudible[0:34:42]), we take

care of them and when we got them, we are expected to do
that. That’s what we, you know, planned on them to like the
commitment. That’s what you have to do.

Joe Schreibvogel: You have to be very careful. What you ask

them out there. Because they are very protective over their
monkeys.

Louis Theroux: It’s all right to say, what’s your monkey’s

name?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah, yeah.

Louis Theroux: Is he your pet?

Joe Schreibvogel: Any kind of educational questions, you bet

but the minute you start, you know, what do you think about
this people not liking you to have a monkey.
Louis Theroux: It rather be in the wild.

Joe Schreibvogel: Exactly, exactly.

Louis Theroux: It’s a no, no.

Joe Schreibvogel: That is a big no, no.

Louis Theroux: Of all exotic pets, primates are considered

the most challenging.

UNKNOWN: So we’re talking about seven ounces of lucky charm.

Louis Theroux: Their intelligence makes them hard to keep

stimulated. They’re also liable to become unpredictable and
dangerous as they reach sexual maturity and can live 50 and
even 60 years.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah, they have a shift pan and what a

shift pan is, you have a slide door of some kind, where you
can lock the animal into another cage, so you can safely
clean without ever being inside with the primate to protect
you, the monkey and the reputation of private owners. You
get a lot of baby blankets that have that little silky strip
right here on the top or down the side, they’ll unravel that
and get somewhere and we’ve lost two monkeys that have just
hung themselves in their cages in the first years of our
park being here.

Louis Theroux: Who’s this?

UNKNOWN: This is maggie.

Louis Theroux: You have a special relationship with maggie

UNKNOWN: I feel like, I do.

UNKNOWN: Yeah, she’s a big, big daddy’s girl.

UNKNOWN: Give me a kiss. Thank you.

UNKNOWN: Give me a kiss.

UNKNOWN: Would you give me a kiss? Can you give me a kiss,

hey? Thank you.

[sil.]
Louis Theroux: The most controversial of all exotic pets is
the chimpanzee. In 2009, a chimp called Trevace in suburban
Connecticut attacked and nearly killed a human neighbor,
ripping off her face.

Jill James: Hello.

Louis Theroux: Hi I’m Louis.

Jill James: Jill James.

Louis Theroux: Jill nice to meet you. Can we come in?

Jill James: Sure, come on in.

Louis Theroux: How are you doing?

Jill James: Good.

Louis Theroux: Thanks for having us. Jill and Brad James are
among the very few private chimp owners in north America
with five year old (inaudible[0:37:42]) Carrie and seven
year old Kupa.

Jill James: It’s just a game. Stop it.

Louis Theroux: Is he spitting, is he spitting at me now?

What is the spitting, it’s not friendly, is it?

Jill James: I don’t think so, no, no. okay.

Louis Theroux: It was time for another close encounter with

a fellow primate. First out of the cage Tukan Carrie.

Jill James: You’re already helping me out.

Louis Theroux: Do you consider them your, your pets? How do

you view them?

Jill James: They’re very human like to be considered like a

dog or whatever.

Louis Theroux: I have small children and to me, it seems

very like having a tiny, hairy, very energetic little child.

Jill James: It is, yes.

Louis Theroux: And what do your friends make of it? Do they
worry about the safety?

Jill James: Yeah, they do. They do. You know, there has been
like two chimp attacks now in ten years probably and I’m not
making lie to that, it’s bad, but do you know how many
Rottweilers and dogs tear up people?

Louis Theroux: There is relatively few chimpanzees in

captivity in America. So proportionally, chimpanzees would
represent quite a serious threat in the home.

Jill James: Yeah. But you do understand what I’m saying

about dogs, they do it daily. Want another one?

Louis Theroux: What do you want?

Jill James: What do you want? What do you want? Eat, good
boy.

Louis Theroux: What do you they eat?

Jill James: They eat Mexican, Chinese.

Louis Theroux: They eat Chinese?

Jill James: Yeah, they love (inaudible[0:39:30]), spicy

things. They like pork rinds. Doritos, love Doritos. As

Louis Theroux: As he gets older, will you not have to reduce

the amount of one on one contact as he gets strong?

Jill James: I made a will. I mean, I’m gonna use common

sense about it. I’m not gonna get, I’m not gonna put myself
in the position to get hurt and I’ll have the equipment in
case it gets that way and then I won’t go back in if it
happens, you know.

Louis Theroux: At the point where he basically has to be

confined to his enclosure, will you feel bad about that?

Jill James: He can still, be able to see me, may not build a
(inaudible[0:40:07]) and love and all that but it won’t be
right just totally abandon him, you know.

Louis Theroux: You feel, you’re in it for the long haul?

Jill James: Well, I don’t know. You know, don’t know what
will hit you when you get 60, or 70 or whatever.

Louis Theroux: At 120 pounds, Jill and Brad’s older chimp

Kupa was not yet fully grown but he was on the cusp of
sexual maturity, an age, that is considered dangerous for a
chimp. If we get, we’re around him, what, what could happen?
Do you think, it will be all right or what do you think?

Jill James: It usually is, but, I, I would rather be safe

than sorry, so let’s just take the safe way.

Louis Theroux: Which is us in the house?

Jill James: Yeah, that’s to see.

Louis Theroux: You’re not nervous or anything?

Jill James: Me?

Louis Theroux: Yeah.

Jill James: No.

Louis Theroux: If he bites my nose off then, you could be in

trouble. It does happened.

Jill James: You better be right. I’m not putting up with no

shit. You understand, you understand? Okay. He wants to eat,
he’s going to eat. No, no, oh shit. Come here, beep him
Brad.

Louis Theroux: Jill can you come here?

Jill James: Okay.

Louis Theroux: So we just, we just think it through, and I

think we know, we may have what we need, so.

Jill James: You’re afraid of. It’s okay.

Louis Theroux: It’s the element of the unpredictable that is

one of the big downsides of having a chimpanzee. And as he
gets stronger, the stakes go up, don’t they because if it
happens.
Jill James: He’s not, that’s just normal, that’s their
plaything, they do it together, they’ll get in the house and
they’re together. Oh, my goodness.

Louis Theroux: You just got to look at back on someone in a

donation envelop that you sent.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah, tomorrow, my husband and I, we’re

gonna visit your animal park and spend a day. I’ve
researched your park on the internet tonight and saw abuse
of the animal documentary by Peter.

Louis Theroux: Did she say, all of the abuse.

Joe Schreibvogel: All of the abuse. I was shocked and

disgusted. I told my husband, we will not be visiting your
park tomorrow or anytime in the future. These letter came
back in the mail today with that wrote all over it.

Louis Theroux: That’s from Peter, that seems something from

the people for ethical treatment of animals.

Joe Schreibvogel: Right.

Louis Theroux: So what do you take from that letter?

Joe Schreibvogel: What I take from that letter? Ignorant

people believe anything they fucking read on the internet.

Louis Theroux: So you point out a letter that said, it was

a, that’s what you’re up against.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yes.

Louis Theroux: And that’s hurting you?

Joe Schreibvogel: actually. We were expecting a check in

that envelop.

Louis Theroux: Joe was on the brink of a financial crisis.

Joe Schreibvogel: Are you watering the trees? Soak them

good. They’re dying. I can’t (inaudible[0:43:29]).

Louis Theroux: What’s going on this one?

Joe Schreibvogel: In this cage, we
female lion, two female tigers. So
get purebred lions, and we’ll have
Isn’t that fascinating that in one
purebreds and cross bred?
have one male lion, a
out of one cage, we’ll
two litters of Ligers.
cage, you can get

Louis Theroux: Closing down was not an option. To explain

why, he took me to a special spot in the park.

Joe Schreibvogel: See now, this right here, my brother is

(inaudible[0:44:10]) in Texas, so this is where I respect my
brother.

Louis Theroux: What does it say?

Joe Schreibvogel: I need a minute. Can be that one. Says to

the best friend that I’ve ever had, a brother and I’m gonna
be buried right here and my mom and dad are actually in the
process of seeing if they can get his body moved from there
to here because he’s so far away that we never get to go see
him. But that’s why we are here. Owned a pet store in
Arlington, Texas, when he got killed and I sold it for
$70,000 and mom and dad got a $140,000 for his death. I took
my $70,000 and mom and dad took their $140,000 and we put it
together and we paid for the property and we built this
first row of cages.

Louis Theroux: You think, (inaudible[0:45:34]) saw this

place, he’d be proud?

Joe Schreibvogel: In case, proud. I know, he’s proud.

Louis Theroux: It’s been a hard week.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah. And I would be sick and stressed out

over money and everything else. I normally don’t say
(inaudible[00:45:51]).

Louis Theroux: Despite all his breeding of tiger cubs, more

and more moms were refusing to book Joe’s road show under
pressure from animal rights groups. I wondered how much
longer he could go on. So you are worried Joe.

Joe Schreibvogel: I worry all the time. Non-stop but we’ll

figure it out, somehow on my (inaudible[00:46:18]).
Louis Theroux: It feels quite precarious, it feels like
you’re on a knife’s edge.

Joe Schreibvogel: You know, we’ve been, we’ve been on the

edge since the day we opened this place, 11 years ago.

Louis Theroux: In a way, you’re in the position, now I’ve

stopped piling tigers. They’re not, so much on display
because most people, you know, you’ve seen one tiger
(inaudible[00:46:39]) need to see in 149.

Joe Schreibvogel: Right.

Louis Theroux: I mean, is there any scenario in which, you

could get run out of money or cease to be able to operate
this place and, and many of the big cats would have to be
euthanized?

Joe Schreibvogel: You know, I’ve kicked that idea around and
if I ever went broke, I think, I would euthanize everything.
Rather than put them in another facility with the same
financial stress.

Louis Theroux: Do you really mean that?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: 1400 animals.

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: I don’t think you’re being serious.

Joe Schreibvogel: I don’t think, you know me very well.

UNKNOWN: With my time among America’s exotic animals nearing

its end, I had one last appointment outside the park.

[music]

Connie Cassie: Hi.

Louis Theroux: I’m Louis.

Connie Cassie: Hi, Louis, how are you doing?

Louis Theroux: Nice to meet you.

Connie Cassie: Yeah, we got a nice rainy day, don’t we?

Louis Theroux: Yes, we do.

Connie Cassie: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: Connie Cassie is a chimpanzee breeder and

dealer. She bred Jill and Brad’s two chimps. She also bred
the infamist Travis. She’s landlady to a multitude of
primates including a colony of twenty chimpanzees. Who’s up
there?

Connie Cassie: Coby and Levan and daisy and Tony and uh…
Eric. I think, it’s Tony.

Louis Theroux: Could any of these breed?

Connie Cassie: They’re all intact, they could. If you’re

lucky enough to have a good breeding male, then, it’s very
fortunate for you. In the past, they’ve baby chimps have
brought in $40,000, you know.

Louis Theroux: She really seems to enjoy human contact.

Connie Cassie: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: Many of Connie’s chimps were once pets who

grew unmanageable. Some were entertainers. Now they live out
their days here.

Connie Cassie: Once you get in here, you’ll want to stay to

that wall. If you fall, don’t reach out to the cage to keep
yourself from bowing.

Louis Theroux: Why?

Connie Cassie: Well, I don’t want your fingers to go in the

cage and you’ll be missing a finger. Hey, hey Eric silly
boy. If you stand there too long, he’s gonna go suck up some
water.

Louis Theroux: Suck up some water and spit it.

Connie Cassie: Yeah. Hey, curby, you want a thing? Good boy,
good boy curby. Good boy. Sheena stop it, that’s my
sprinkler system. Hey, what are you doing?
Louis Theroux: Who’s your rowdiest?

Connie Cassie: Right now, it’s probably Connor. And then him
and that’s Tanka.

Louis Theroux: Why have you got screens out?

Connie Cassie: Because she, the little girl she throws this
bedding, she’s, she’s the worst thrower as far as throwing
the bedding. It’s all, like if that, if that wasn’t there,
she’d be throwing stuff at them all the time. And then
eventually, they throw it back and so it’s like, you know, a
bedding fight.

Louis Theroux: What did you think about the whole Travis
thing?

Connie Cassie: Travis situation was a very uh… unusual and

horrible thing that happened. You know, he shouldn’t have
been out of the cage.

Louis Theroux: You knew him a little bit.

Connie Cassie: I knew his mom, yeah.

Louis Theroux: Is she here?

Connie Cassie: Oh, I meant his human mom.

Louis Theroux: Oh

Connie Cassie: Okay. Connor, stop it. Stop.

Louis Theroux: This isn’t necessary, is it?

Connie Cassie: I want you to come out.

Louis Theroux: He’s got an intelligent face.

Connie Cassie: I want you to come out.

Louis Theroux: That didn’t hurt or anything.

Connie Cassie: He wasn’t throwing it very hard.

Louis Theroux: It could go worse than that?

Connie Cassie: Oh, yeah, he can throw it.

Louis Theroux: How do you feel being, being among the

chimps? I mean, do you enjoy it?

Connie Cassie: Yeah.

Louis Theroux: Do you think, they love you?

Connie Cassie: The chimps, oh, yeah. I know that.

Louis Theroux: Oh.

Connie Cassie: Do you think, they don’t?

Louis Theroux: It’s so hard to read what they’re thinking.

Connie Cassie: It’s different when you live with them.

Louis Theroux: But you wouldn’t go in there with Connor.

Connie Cassie: Not anymore.

Louis Theroux: Maybe because you don’t trust him a little

bit?

Connie Cassie: Yeah.

[music]

Louis Theroux: I was heading back to Joe’s park for one last
visit.

Bonnie: All right guys, my name is Bonnie.

Tim: And I am Tim.

Bonnie: And we’re gonna be your tour guide today.

Louis Theroux: On arrival, I discovered a radical new plan

for pulling in visitors.

Bonnie: Our park trekker Joe exotic has been working with
animal (inaudible[00:52:41]) for over 23 years.
Tim: For over 12 years, Joe’s had a believe that the world
only started with one tiger and that was the Saber Tooth
tiger some 360 million years ago.

Bonnie: So for his (inaudible[00:52:53]), Joe created this

large habitat where baby tiger and a baby lion can grow up
together, knowing each adult as adults.

Tim: To question, could you take one step further and try to
create a Saber Tooth tiger without any GM interference. Can
you imagine how exciting it will be to see and talk to an
animal ambassador that evolve from 360 million years ago?
Just because of one man’s believe.

Louis Theroux: So you’re actually breeding a Saber Tooth

tiger?

UNKNOWN: If the male, it’s a Liger aren’t sterile and they

breed with the lionesses, that’s the closest thing you can
get to a saber tooth tiger.

Louis Theroux: Who’s idea was that?

UNKNOWN: Umm… it’s just, you know, scientists who are trying
to do it and test results all day long. Joe’s actually done
this naturally.

Louis Theroux: This is Joe’s idea? What’s the idea behind

that?

UNKNOWN: Uh…, you know, it’s kind of like the zoo’s stuff,
it’s kind of like the wooly mammoth, you know, they’re
trying to remake the wooly mammoth in test tubes and
recreate all the past.

Louis Theroux: Kind of like Jurassic park?

UNKNOWN: Yeah, pretty much.

Louis Theroux: Do you need like research, scientists and

PhDs supervising that kind of thing?

UNKNOWN: No, PhD is just a document that goes on a wall, you

know. Uh…, it’s all been done naturally here so. Everybody
say the movie is actually come to real life.
Louis Theroux: Dinosaur could come out something and devour
everyone in the park. It could be dangerous.

UNKNOWN: It could be. Like it’s not already dangerous.

Louis Theroux: So you go, this is pretty good turnout.

UNKNOWN: Yeah, this is pretty good, not bad, I mean. We had

better. We’ve done tours with 54, 55 people. This is just
24, so.

Louis Theroux: Is this the future?

UNKNOWN: Is it the future? Yeah, probably.

Bonnie: This is the first stop in our tour. What we’re gonna
do is we’re actually gonna let you come up one group at a
time. We’re gonna get your picture with this little
miniature horse.

Tim: As soon as we can get him to calm down a little bit.

He’s only two years old, so he does like to throw little
temper tantrums.

UNKNOWN: Right on the lips, here we go.

Bonnie: And smile, you’re with a tiger. And it’s not chewing
on your leg. That was a little trick he was doing for you.

[music]

Louis Theroux: Joe also had a new crop of tiger cubs which
he was using for hands on play with customers. My stay at
the park was up. With this great ape, it was time to leave
the zoo. I’d come to see America’s exotic animals something
between pets and inmates. Some of the unwanted ones end up
at Joe’s but even here it was breeding to make ends meet.
You know, by breeding by creating these lives, you have a
responsibility to them for life?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yes.

Louis Theroux: But how can you really (inaudible[00:56:06])

that?
Joe Schreibvogel: Well because most of my
(inaudible[00:56:11]). Most of the tigers that are in the
back were my very first photo babies.

Louis Theroux: For a tiger that’s born for as a photo baby

and then stays here for life in one of the cages here, you
think that’s a pretty good life for a tiger.

Joe Schreibvogel: I think, this (inaudible[00:56:27]), taken

care of.

Louis Theroux: And chimps too?

Joe Schreibvogel: Uh… yeah. You know, if I could pull my

photo show up, tomorrow I’ll do it. But I can’t. There is
somebody has to keep stepping up to the place and rescue an
animal. I’m called the roadside zoo, yeah, I’m, I’m next to
the road and I’m a zoo, big deal, call me a roadside zoo. I
am. But don’t call me a scamtuary because I’ve put my own
money into keeping this place open. It’s all bullshit.

Louis Theroux: When you said you would euthanize these

animals before giving the place up, you weren’t really
serious?

Joe Schreibvogel: I’m dead serious. They, if that’s what

they want before they run me out of business, I’ll euthanize
every damn animal on this place.

Louis Theroux: But if you think, it’s wrong for them to do

it, why would you do it?

Joe Schreibvogel: Because I won’t let them do it.

Louis Theroux: Are you always like this or are you under a
lot of stress?

Joe Schreibvogel: No, I’m always like this.

Louis Theroux: For the last ten years?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yeah. I was like this before.

Louis Theroux: When you were a cop?

Joe Schreibvogel: Yup.

Louis Theroux: You must have been a pretty weird cop.

Joe Schreibvogel: I was a weird cop.

Louis Theroux: At the end, the question maybe, what kind of

life is worth living for a tiger? If not here, there would
be no homes for many of these animals and so for them, the
choice is between a small cage and an even smaller box.

[music]

Louis Theroux: Why he doesn’t like me? I thought, it was

with glasses (inaudible[00:58:16]).

UNKNOWN: (inaudible[00:58:15]), he didn’t know anything

about where, he is just (inaudible[00:58:20]) okay, he
wanted to be friend with Ray, you know same with me. And
then there is, there is other people you know, that he
(inaudible[00:58:29]) doesn’t like.

UNKNOWN: He’s not being friendly either, just kind of.

Written and Presented by

Louis Theroux

Sound

Ryan Chandler

Mike Larini

Francisco Latorre

Composer

Bradley Miles

Graphics

Red Bee Media

Production Coordinators

Ruth Bancroft

Margaret Bowling
Beth Waggitt

Production Manager

Annabel Yonge

Online Editor

Tamer Osman

Colourist

Sonny Sheridan

Dubbing Mixer

Nick Fry

Editor

Joe Carey

Assistant Producer

Gavin Whitehead

Executive Producer

Nick Mirsky

Series Producer

Emma Cooper

Filmed & Directed by

Jamie Pickup

BBC

Productions

BBC

© BBC 2011
[sil]