Deputies seize 7 tigers from home; man claims they were his service animals

NYE COUNTY, Nev. (KVVU/Gray News) - Deputies in Nevada seized seven tigers from a Pahrump-area home this week.

According to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, deputies issued a search warrant for Karl Mitchell, and the property he was living at Wednesday morning.

Authorities said he has owned the tigers for several years but has been violating county ordinances and special condition permits.

Mitchell was charged with resisting an officer, as the sheriff’s office said he cooperated at first, but then struggled with a deputy.

He ultimately was taken to the ground and arrested.

“We intended to seize the cats, number one for public safety, number two for the safety of the cats. And then he struggled with the deputy,” Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill said.

The sheriff said Mitchell made threatening remarks as deputies were arriving, which is why they had to work quickly to complete the operation safely.

Mitchell told deputies he would release the animals if deputies came after him.

The sheriff said that the tigers were in large fenced enclosures with locks on them and that the sheriff’s office was working to move the animals to a sanctuary.

Mitchell and Nye County officials have spoken before regarding the animals over the years.

Court records stated that Mitchell described the tigers as service animals in a 2015 emergency injunction against Nye County to stop authorities from removing the animals over a lack of proper permits.

Mitchell claimed the tigers provided him emotional support for his post-traumatic stress disorder, which stemmed from his military service in the Vietnam War.

However, a Nye County judge ruled against Mitchell, stating he did not have the proper special use permits to house an exotic animal.

Mitchell sued Nye County in 2020 over the permit battle, accusing officials of “abuse, selective enforcement and discrimination.”

County commissioners granted Mitchell a Special Conditions Animal Permit in 2019, but restricted him from exhibiting the animals or transporting them other than for medical care.

In 2023, a Nye County judge dismissed Mitchell’s case, stating he was still not in compliance with county codes regarding exotic animals and a lack of evidence of discrimination.

Mitchell is currently in the custody of the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.

McGill confirmed that Wednesday’s seizure of the tigers was related to Mitchell’s lack of permits.