Charlestown zoo owner facing contempt after blocking court-ordered animal removal

As the process of removing animals from an Indiana zoo featured on Netflix’s hit series “Tiger King” begins, the owner of the zoo is already facing a contempt motion for allegedly interfering with the court-ordered removal.

Marion Superior Judge David Dreyer on Thursday appointed Indianapolis Zoological Society Inc. as receiver of wildlife currently housed at Wildlife in Need and Wildlife in Deed Inc., a Charlestown roadside zoo also known as WIN. The zoo and its owner, Tim Stark, are facing a lawsuit brought by the state of Indiana to shut down WIN for mistreatment of animals.

Stark has also faced legal trouble in federal court, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February revoking his exhibitor’s license. The 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal of the revocation.

In state court, Dreyer appointed a receiver pending final judgment last month, incorporating language from the state’s motion that “Based on Stark’s sworn statements to the U.S. Court of Appeals, it is clear that if animals at WIN remain in the custody, the animals will be in imminent danger of serious harm or death prior to the final hearing and/or judgment.”

The Thursday order officially named the Indianapolis Zoo as the receiver and gave it permission to remove animals from the Charlestown location on Sept. 11, 13, 15, 17 and 18, with Sept. 18 being the deadline for removal. Dreyer’s order also prohibited Stark from being within one mile of the zoo on any of those dates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from interfering with the removal process.

However, according to a Friday show cause motion, Stark defied that order.

“On Friday, September 11^th, 2020 at 9:00am, the Receiver and members of the animal removal team arrived at 3320 Jack Teeple Road to begin the animal removal process. The Receiver and members of the animal removal team encountered Timothy Stark at 3320 Jack Teeple Road and Stark refused the animal removal team entrance to the property,” the state wrote in its Friday motion.

“Defendant Timothy Stark continued to refuse access to the animal removal team for nearly two hours after their arrival, while demanding a conference with the court and yelling at members of the animal removal team,” the motion continues. “Defendant Timothy Stark eventually left 3320 Jack Teeple Road around 10:45 (a.m.)”

Earlier this month, Stark had moved for an emergency status conference in Dreyer’s court, writing that “the Court’s decision (to appoint a receiver) was based upon misinformation … .” Dreyer denied that motion two days before appointing the Indianapolis Zoo as receiver.

Stark and co-defendant Melisa Lane, another WIN official, are proceeding pro se, while the WIN zoo is represented by New Albany attorney James Clayton Culotta. Stark has frequently taken to the zoo’s Facebook page to air his grievances against the litigation.

“When their (animal rights activists’) suit was not going well, the enlisted the Indiana Attorney General and the media to create a whole other smear campaign,” Stark wrote in an August Facebook post titled “This is not Pretty.”

“The Attorney General was eager for both a high-profile case during an election year as well as the means to take the spotlight off his own lawsuits so false testimony from former (WIN) volunteers, who had not seen our property for several years are the basis for this suit. This group was an attention seeking lot that relished the opportunity to be on tv and cry for the public,” he continued. “However, when asked to detail their lies for the court, most of them dropped out. A few remain.”

The state’s show cause motion requests an admonishment and contempt holding against Stark and asks that he “be detained by law enforcement as is necessary to effectuate the terms of the Court’s Order Appointing Receiver. The State further request this Court order that law enforcement may detain Stark should he violate this Court’s order” by being within one mile of the zoo during the removal times or by interfering with the removal process.

Additionally, the state asked for additional removal hours, an expedited response from Stark and a Friday afternoon hearing in Dreyer’s court. Online case records do not indicate whether that hearing took place, and Dreyer had not ruled on the contempt motion at IL deadline Monday.

Stark also had not responded to the contempt motion at IL deadline.

The state previously moved for contempt sanctions against Stark after he defied orders against animal exhibition, acquisition and removal. Dreyer declined to impose sanctions on those allegations or allegations related to discovery violations.

The case is State of Indiana v. Wildlife in Need and Wildlife in Deed, Inc., Timothy Stark, Melisa Lane, 49D10-2002-PL-006192.

In federal court, Stark and his zoo faced another recent defeat when the Southern Indiana District Court entered summary judgment against WIN in favor of animals rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. That case is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc. v. Wildlife in Need and Wildlife in Deed, Inc., et al., 4:17-cv-186.