A zoologist's view of Tiger King: a crass exposé that could do some good

The smash-hit documentary lets the murder-mystery take centre stage. But it also cunningly conceals a powerful message about the cruelty of small-scale zoos

The “man with questionable fashion sense inflicts abuse on cats” category of true-crime TV has a new monarch: the Tiger King himself, Joe Exotic. This seven-part true-crime doc is a smash hit for Netflix, and that’s no surprise – it’s arresting, gripping, horrifying and jaw-dropping in equal measure. To parrot Mrs Merton: oh Netflix, what drew you to the story of the polyamorous, power-ballad singing, gun-toting, murderous tiger-collector Joe Exotic?

Related: Murder, madness and tigers: behind the year's wildest Netflix series

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