Joe Exotic has been forced to hand his beloved zoo over to his Tiger King co-star and long-standing rival Carole Baskin.

The GW Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Oklahoma had been left by Exotic to his former business partner – and fellow Tiger King star – Jeff Lowe and his mother.

However, a judge has now ruled that this transfer was, in fact, fraudulent, and handed the land over to Baskin, one of the key figures in the smash hit Netflix documentary.

The ruling forms part of a $1 million settlement Exotic was ordered to pay Baskin due to copyright infringement.

Following the judge’s decision, Jeff Lowe now has four months to vacate the premises, after which Baskin – who already oversees an animal sanctuary in Florida – will take over as owner.

Baskin has been a vocal critic of Joe Exotic both on and off screen, accusing him of abusing the animals that he looks after.

Exotic – real name Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage – was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2019, after being found guilty of trying to hire a hitman to murder Carole Baskin, as well as several animal cruelty charges.

Tiger King debuted on Netflix earlier this year, and proved to be a huge hit for the streaming giant, helped in part by the fact its arrival on the platform coincided with the beginning of lockdown.

A reunion special, The Tiger King And I, followed a month later, although Baskin declined to take part, as she was unhappy with how she was depicted on screen.