LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A Nevada man is speaking out in hopes that authorities will return several tigers he says he depends on for emotional support.
Karl Mitchell, of Pahrump, bonded out of jail Wednesday night and is back home. He and his tigers have made headlines for decades.
“I absolutely plan to get the tigers back,” Mitchell said.
Nye County authorities are relocating Mitchell’s tigers, including those named Mustafa and Diva, to a sanctuary outside Nevada. He said they are his emotional support animals, helping him through PTSD.
“I’ve been working with animals of every description for many, many, many years, and I found a significant bond with tigers that was different from lions,” Mitchell said when asked why he chose tigers for emotional support.
Nye county authorities seized the tigers because Mitchell does not have the permits to keep them.
Their investigation into Mitchell was sped up by an eviction dispute. The owner of the land, Roberta Wind, is the niece of the land’s deceased former owner, locally known as Ray “Flagman” Mielzynski.
Wind said she’d given Mitchell over a year to move out so she could sell the land and split the money with her siblings, but Mitchell refused to cooperate.
“No one wanted to take a chance because he’s got all those tigers and dogs and, and he’s just, you know, I didn’t want anyone to risk it either,” Wind said.
Wind said she did not know Nye County’s tiger seizure would happen on Wednesday and said the property dispute and Mitchell’s tiger permits are separate issues.
In order for Mitchell to get the tigers back, he would need to jump through a number of legal hoops, including signing their ownership to someone with the proper permits in Pahrump.
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