Netflix made him famous. Federal inspectors found 25 violations. Meet the Miami zoo that keeps getting away with it.
If you watched Tiger King on Netflix and walked away thinking, “At least that's all in the past”—we have some deeply troubling news for you.
Miami’s Zoological Wildlife Foundation (ZWF), the facility made famous by the docuseries and its owner, convicted felon and former drug kingpin Mario Tabraue, is back in the headlines, and the consequences for the animals couldn’t be more heartbreaking.
An Endangered Leopard Lost Her Leg. A Capybara Lost Her Life.
A new USDA inspection report reveals that ZWF was cited in April 2026 for 10 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA)—including a critical citation for failing to keep incompatible animals separated.
An endangered clouded leopard had her leg amputated after being mauled by a male leopard during a forced breeding attempt. A female capybara—a large, semi-aquatic South American rodent—died during a separate breeding incident. Tabraue acknowledged both events in an email to the Miami New Times, attributing them to things “beyond our control” and claiming they are “things that happen in nature.”
But these animals weren’t in nature. They were confined in enclosures, paired up for human purposes, with no ability to choose their mates or escape danger. That’s not nature—that’s captivity, and captivity comes with the bare minimum responsibility to protect the animals in your care.
Inspectors also documented wider neglect throughout the facility: rusty enclosures, sharp metal edges, water bowls filled with algae and debris, and a food freezer contaminated with dead flies and gnats. Capuchin monkeys, kinkajous, servals, and parrots were among the animals affected.
This Isn’t New. It’s a Pattern.
What makes this story so frustrating isn’t just these latest violations. ZWF has been doing this for years, and animals have been paying the price the entire time. Since at least 2014, the facility has racked up a deeply troubling track record: a white tiger bit off a construction worker’s thumb, a 40-pound chimpanzee bit a child, lion cubs bit guests during public encounters in both 2021 and 2023, and in January 2024, a capuchin monkey bit three children—one of whom required hospital treatment.
Despite this string of incidents, ZWF had a suspiciously clean USDA record for years. It didn’t make sense—until a whistleblower came forward alleging that the inspector responsible for overseeing ZWF was tipping Tabraue off ahead of “surprise” inspections and receiving free facility passes in return. The USDA launched an internal investigation, and the inspector in question retired early.
Between 2014 and 2024, that inspector had conducted 16 inspections of ZWF and issued citations just once when visiting alone. A different inspector, covering a three-year window in the same period, cited the facility 15 times—often for serious violations. Once new inspectors were assigned, ZWF was cited for 25 Animal Welfare Act violations in short order.
The Business Model Is the Problem
ZWF doesn’t present itself as a traditional zoo where you observe animals from a distance. Its entire model is built on contact. The facility’s website advertises “up close and personal” wildlife experiences—petting, holding, and photographing wild animals including big cats, primates, and other wild species.
That business model is fundamentally incompatible with animal welfare. Animals used in these pay-to-play encounters are typically separated from their mothers as infants, kept small enough to be handled by paying guests, and replaced once they grow too large. What happens to them after that is rarely transparent. ZWF was one of the last venues in the US still offering big-cat cub petting encounters before the Big Cat Public Safety Act made the practice illegal. While that federal law was a major win, ZWF continues to offer hands-on encounters with other wild species—animals who belong in the wild, not in the arms of tourists.
What You Can Do
At World Animal Protection, we believe wild animals belong in the wild. When that isn’t possible, they deserve accredited sanctuaries with proper space and care, not roadside attractions built around tourist photos.
- Never pay for a hands-on encounter with a wild animal: Any venue offering close-contact photo ops with wild animals is putting profit over welfare, regardless of how it markets itself.
- Spread the word: Many people visit places like ZWF because they love animals and simply don’t know the harm these facilities cause. Raising awareness can help reduce demand for attractions like ZWF.
- Support stronger enforcement—the Animal Welfare Act is only as effective as the oversight behind it.
Tabraue told the Miami New Times he was “never cited by USDA.” The inspection report says otherwise. The citations are documented, the pattern is undeniable, and the animals at ZWF are still there—still confined, still used to generate revenue, still living far from anything resembling a natural life.
Animals everywhere are counting on us to show up for them. Please donate to World Animal Protection today so we can keep fighting for animals wherever—and whenever—they need us most.