Virginia court dismisses convictions against Myrtle Beach Safari owner. Here’s why
Myrtle Beach Safari owner Bhagavan “Doc” Antle will not be convicted on charges that he conspired to sell lion cubs in Virginia, the state’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
The ruling comes after Antle had made several appeals throughout the case, arguing that the Frederick County Circuit Court had misinterpreted Virginia’s law about prohibiting the selling of endangered animals.
Antle was initially convicted by the circuit court with two counts of purchasing lion cubs and two counts of conspiring to sell or purchase lion cubs after he bought lions in 2018 and 2019 from a seller in Winchester, Virginia. Lions became an endangered and threatened species in 2016, making them illegal to sell under Virginia law.
Antle claimed that while the law did prohibit the sale of endangered animals, it did not apply to the purchasing of them. After his initial trial, Antle appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeals of Virginia, which reversed the convictions relating to the purchasing of lion cubs but upheld the conspiracy charges.
The Supreme Court of Virginia then reversed on June 4 part of the Court of Appeals ruling, saying that Antle could not be convicted of conspiracy to sell the lion cubs. The court also dismissed all underlying indictments.
