The film is a character-driven documentary, which also reveals and explores a subculture of large wild animal keeping and breeding across the United States.
The film starts from the premise that there are more tigers in private hands in the United States than there are roaming wild in the world.
When the film begins, Hill has recently lost his federal USDA license to keep and breed tigers, bears and cougars and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources is threatening to shut him down citing dangerous and inhumane conditions.
The 86 minute film explores Hill's past and his motivations, as well as the numerous incidence of private large wild animal breeding in the United States—by featuring extensive interviews with Hill, his family, neighbors and friends, local DNR officials, Special Agent Tim Santel of US Fish and Wildlife, Joe Taft director of the Exotic Feline Rescue Center,[2] and Carole Asvestas director of Wild Animal Orphanage.
The Tiger Next Door has been licensed for television broadcast in the United States 2009-2015 by Animal Planet (Discovery Communications).