Tiger King star Joe Exotic has suffered an "emotional blow" and is in a "fragile" state after a judge ruled that his zoo must be handed over to his long-term rival Carole Baskin.

The ruling earlier this week is just the latest twist in the ongoing saga between the pair, which has left Exotic in jail after he was found guilty of a plot to have Baskin murdered.

Exotic is now seeking a presidential pardon in order to secure his release, but according to a statement from his legal team, the latest development has hit him hard.

"It's with heavy hearts we must officially address the court ruling that transferred ownership of the G.W. Zoo to none other than Carol Baskin," it said. "Because of the amount of press the story has received, we feel a timely response is necessary.

"This ruling is yet another emotional blow to an already fragile Joe, who has spent the past 3 straight months in solitary confinement. He has been completely unable to defend himself.

"As hard as this news is, we refuse to accept defeat. Even as we type this message, Joe's legal team is filing appeals and his social media/PR team are rallying public support."

A recent report claimed that Netflix is working on several new episodes of the hit show.