The owner of an exotic animal park in Oklahoma says that an arsonist burned portions of the zoo, killing seven alligators and a crocodile. Some of the alligators and the crocodile belonged to the late pop star Michael Jackson.
Joe Schreibvogel, who found the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, told The Oklahoman Tuesday that he blames his personal enemies for the fire, which happened on March 26. However, no one has been charged in the case yet.
“This was personal,” Schreibvogel said. “They targeted the studio to shut me up. They wanted to get me off the air...or else they would’ve targeted something else (in the zoo).”
He said that the eight reptiles were “boiled to death” in the fire. One crocodile did manage to survive the fire by escaping the enclosure when the doors fell off.
Schreibvogel claims that the arsonists also stole the cameras and equipment he uses for his own TV show, Joe Exotic TV.
Schreibvogel said that the Jackson estate asked him to house the reptiles after the Neverland Ranch was closed and items were auctioned off. “We also helped them relocate and move some giraffes he had on the property,” he said.
As The Los Angeles Times notes, Schreibvogel’s zoo has been criticized in the past for conditions, with PETA even calling it a “poorly run facility.”
The fire is currently under investigation. Garvin County Sheriff Larry Rhodes told The Oklahoman that the FBI has “been poking around, too.”
image courtesy of Paul Adao/INFphoto.com