Nye County deputies arrested a man who reportedly owned seven tigers at his Nevada home, claiming they were his service animals.
Karl Mitchell was arrested after he struggled with deputies and threatened to unleash the wild cats on them while they conducted a search warrant at his Pahrump-area home Wednesday morning.
Local authorities and Mitchell were amid years-long battle over the animals.
Mitchell claimed the tigers were providing him emotional support for the post-traumatic stress disorder he suffered from his military service in Vietnam.
But a Nye County judge ruled that Mitchel did not have the proper special use permits to own the exotic animals.
Wednesday’s search warrant was related to the owner’s lack of permits, the sheriff’s office said.
The tigers are being removed from the large fenced enclosures where Mitchell locked them up to a sanctuary.
