A fire at a controversial animal park in Oklahoma has killed seven alligators and one crocodile, including an alligator once owned by Michael Jackson.

According to a report in the Oklahoman, investigators from the Gavin County police department suspect the blaze, which occurred on March 26 between 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., may have been arson. Gavin County Sheriff Larry Rhodes called the fire a “clear criminal act.” He believes that it could have been started in order to cover up a burglary, the Oklahoman reports. Although the county arson investigator has yet to officially declare the fire an arson, he has ruled out the possibility of an electrical fire, or one caused by a storm.

Joe Schreibvogel, the founder and spokesman for the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park, is blaming “animal rights activists and extremists,” for the fire, according to LAist.

Schreibvogel and his animal park have long been a flash point for controversy in the animal rights community. PETA has called the park “a total hole” and a “shady joint,” LAist reports. PETA claims that animals there are beaten, starved, overbred, and often left to suffer. The animal rights group points to a recent case where declawed lion cubs were forced to play with visitors until their paws bled.

One of the alligators killed in the fire had been relocated to the park from the Neverland Ranch after Jackson’s death. Another of Jackson’s alligators was injured in the fire and is currently recovering from smoke inhalation.