by Tiffany Clark
On Tuesday, October 18, a man from Zanesville Ohio released 56 of his exotic animals from their cages, then fatally shot himself. These animals included Bengal tigers, lions, black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, monkeys, cougars and cheetahs.
Police were notified of the situation after receiving numerous 911 calls of exotic animals on the loose around 5:30 Tuesday evening. Terry Thompson was well known to law enforcement of Zanesville, as was his exotic animal farm. His farm had previously been visited by police to investigate accusations of animal cruelty. He had been charged a number of times with either animal cruelty or animal-at-large misdemeanors. The farm was said to have inadequate fencing for the animals; the Thompsons even kept some animals in cages in their basement and garage.
Terry Thompson had recently been released from prison for two counts of federal felony weapons charges. Though he reportedly loved his animals, his sister stated that he may have been extremely overwhelmed. He was said to have mentioned having a hard time taking care of the menagerie, and he had become estranged from his wife while in prison.
As dark approached, police were instructed to shoot, instead of tranquilize, the large predators. The fear was that a tranquilized animal might escape into the woods by cover of night and later regain consciousness. Law officials felt the risk was too great to the public. When police arrived at the farm the animals were showing aggressive behavior, chasing horses and charging officers who came too close.
Wednesday morning several school districts in the area cancelled school, and residents were urged to stay indoors and keep their pets indoors as well. Road signs on the highway warned drivers "Caution Exotic Animals/Stay In Vehicle."
(AP photo/Tony Dejak. 10-19-11.http://www.nola.com/pets/index.ssf/2011/10/all_exotic_animals_set_loose_h.html)
By Wednesday afternoon, 48 animals had been killed, 5 captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo, and an escaped monkey's carcass was found, evidently victim of a lion. The widow of Terry Thompson requested that the animals be buried on her property as she apparently considered them a part of her family.
(http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/111020-ohio-animals-hlarge-940a.grid-7x2.jpg)
Though Thompson legally kept the animals on his farm, this tragedy has spurred debate on the lax exotic animal laws of Ohio and many other states.
For more coverage visit
http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20111021/NEWS01/110210302/Exotic-animals-Wilds-Safety-top-concern
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