Who was Ryan Easley? PETA slams Tiger King star Joe Exotic’s former associate mauled to death at Oklahoma preserve

Animal handler Ryan Easley, who was also an associate of media personality Joe Exotic, recently lost his life at the Oklahoma-based Growler Pines Tiger Preserve. The incident happened last week, on September 20, 2025, and Ryan was killed by a tiger that was under his care, as stated by WKRC.

However, a statement by PETA referring to Ryan is now creating headlines. Notably, the animal rights nonprofit organization made certain claims against Easley in a post shared on Monday, September 22.

The post included the photo of Ryan and a tiger seemingly appearing inside a cage. The caption featured PETA saying that all the tigers living under the care of Easley over the years must get a “true retirement” in a sanctuary where they can live peacefully. PETA addressed the reasons for the same by saying:

“He acquired tigers from notorious figures in Tiger King, Joe Exotic and Doc Antle, who were known for their own widespread mistreatment of big cats.”

The organization stated that Ryan Easley had allegedly whipped a tiger multiple times during a training session around eight years ago. PETA continued referring to the condition of the animals that were being taken care of by Easley.

“The animals he caged were denied natural lives, hauled around in circuses, and left to languish in roadside zoos - places that are clearly dangerous for both humans and other animals”, PETA wrote in their statement.

Joe Exotic was featured in Tiger King for around a year, and it started airing on Netflix in 2020. As of this writing, Joe has not shared any direct response to PETA’s social media statement.

Joe Exotic reacts to his name getting involved in Ryan Easley’s death

The news of Ryan’s demise was first revealed by Growler Pines Tiger Preserve on Facebook. As mentioned earlier, Easley was an associate of Joe Exotic, and the latter has now responded to the latest report on social media.

While multiple outlets covered the story of Ryan Easley’s death, Joe shared an Instagram post on September 22, 2025, which is now grabbing a lot of attention. The post included a screenshot of the CNN website with a headline that reads, “Tiger kills Oklahoma trainer linked to ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic.”

Joe requested help from President Donald Trump in the caption, writing that he was tired of being “exploited for headlines.” He also wrote:

“This is the crap I am sick of. CNN drags me into this story to make a headline worth reading and I had nothing to do with this dude other than 18 years ago I let him keep his tigers at my zoo for one winter.”

The circumstances leading to Ryan Easley's death have not been made official so far. On the other hand, CNN has yet to respond to the social media post of Joe Exotic.

Meanwhile, Growler Pines Tiger Preserve expressed its grief by saying that Easley was attracted to animals and dedicated his life to protecting and caring for them over the years. The Facebook post also shared another update, stating that the tiger preserve is cancelling all the tours until further notice.