Lions and tigers shot in Ohio; owner freed them

[October 20, 2011]  ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Amid expressions of horror and revulsion at the killing of dozens of wild animals in Ohio -- and photographs of their bloody carcasses -- animal rights advocates agreed there was little local authorities could have done to save the dangerous creatures once they began roaming the countryside after their owner released them before taking his own life.

Sheriff's deputies shot 48 animals -- including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions -- after Terry Thompson, owner of the private Muskingum County Animal Farm near Zanesville, threw their cages open Tuesday and then committed suicide.

"What a tragedy," said veterinarian Barb Wolfe, of The Wilds animal preserve sponsored by the Columbus Zoo. "We knew that ... there were so many dangerous animals at this place that eventually something bad would happen, but I don't think anybody really knew it would be this bad."

As the hunt winded down on Wednesday, a photo showing the remains of tigers, bears and lions lined up and scattered in an open field went viral provoking visceral reactions among viewers, some of whom expressed their anger and sadness on social networking sites.

Some local townspeople also were saddened by the deaths. At a nearby Moose Lodge, Bill Weiser said: "It's breaking my heart, them shooting those animals."

Authorities said the slain animals would be buried on Thompson's farm.

Will Travers, chief executive of the California-based Born Free USA animal welfare and wildlife conservation organization, said police had no choice but to take the action they did.

"It's a tragedy for these particular animals, for no fault of their own they've been shot, and I can see how difficult that decision was for the police," he said.

Jack Hanna, TV personality and former director of the Columbus Zoo, also defended the sheriff's decision to kill the animals, calling deaths of the endangered Bengal tigers especially tragic.

The animals destroyed also included six black bears, two grizzlies, a baboon, a wolf and three mountain lions. Six -- three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys -- were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo.

"It's like Noah's Ark wrecking right here in Zanesville, Ohio," Hanna said.

A wolf was later found dead, leaving a monkey as the only animal possibly still unaccounted for in the mostly rural community of farms, widely spaced homes and wooded areas about 55 miles east of Columbus.

While the sheriff's office said early Thursday that the search for the monkey was still active, Sheriff Matt Lutz said the animal may no longer be a concern. "He was in an area where one of the cats actually killed one of the monkeys, and we feel he could have been eaten by one of the cats," Lutz told WCMH-TV.

Officers were ordered to kill the animals instead of trying to bring them down with tranquilizers, for fear that those hit with darts would escape in the darkness before they dropped and would later regain consciousness.

"These animals were on the move, they were showing aggressive behavior," Lutz said at a news conference. "Once the nightfall hit, our biggest concern was having these animals roaming."

Veterinarian Wolfe had tried to save a tiger in a heavy bramble by using a tranquilizer dart, but the animal charged her then tried to flee. It had to be shot and killed by sheriff's deputies.

"I was about 15 feet from him and took a shot, and it didn't respond too much, and I thought we were OK, but within about 10 seconds he roared and started toward me," she said.

Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Merry, among the first to respond on Tuesday, said he shot a number of animals, including a gray wolf and a black bear who charged him from 7 feet away. He said he's an animal lover and only took pride in knowing he was protecting the community.

"All these animals have the ability to take a human out in the length of a second," he said.

The Humane Society of the United States criticized Gov. John Kasich for allowing a statewide ban on the buying and selling of exotic pets to expire in April and called for an emergency rule to crack down on exotic animals until the state comes up with a permanent legal solution.

"Every month brings a new, bizarre, almost surreal incident involving privately held, dangerous wild animals," said Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the Humane Society, in a statement. "In recent years, Ohioans have died and suffered injuries. ... Owners of large, exotic animals are a menace to society, and it's time for the delaying on the rulemaking to end."

Activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also called for emergency regulations and pointed the finger at Gov. John Kasich, saying the incident should serve as his "wake-up call."

"Surely, after this latest incident, enough blood has been shed for the state to take action," the group said in a statement.

Ohio has some of the nation's weakest restrictions on exotic pets and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them.

Born Free USA says it has tracked 1,500 attacks on humans or other animals, and escapes by exotic animals since 1990, with 86 being in Ohio. Travers said there's an urgent need for legislation that addresses the competency of Ohioans seeking to own exotic pets and owners' ability to provide for the animals' welfare as well as public safety.

"Legislation should be there to protect the animals from the people and to protect the people from the animals," he said.

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said Wednesday the governor had called on Lutz to commend the job he had done and to ask him to be part of the process of putting into law what the executive order failed to do.

"Clearly, we need tougher laws. We haven't had them in this state. Nobody's dealt with this, and we will. And we'll deal with it in a comprehensive way," Kasich said earlier in the day at a meeting of Dix Communications editors at which The Associated Press was present.

The Ohio Veterinary Medical Association also called for exotic animal regulations. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland called the deaths of the escaped animals preventable.

"By enacting more stringent restrictions on owning exotic pets in Ohio, tragedies like this one can be avoided in the future," he said in a statement.

Thompson, 62, had had repeated run-ins with the law and his neighbors. Lutz said that the sheriff's office had received numerous complaints since 2004 about animals escaping onto neighbors' property. The sheriff's office also said that Thompson had been charged over the years with animal cruelty, animal neglect and allowing animals to roam.

He had gotten out of federal prison just last month after serving a year for possessing unregistered guns.

Thompson had rescued some of the animals at his preserve and purchased many others, said Columbus Zoo spokeswoman Patty Peters.

It was not immediately clear how Thompson managed to support the preserve and for what purpose it was operated, since it was not open to the public. But Thompson had appeared on the "Rachael Ray Show" in 2008 as an animal handler for a zoologist guest, said show spokeswoman Lauren Nowell.

[Associated Press; By ANDY BROWNFIELD and KANTELE FRANKO]

Associated Press writers Ann Sanner, Julie Carr Smyth, JoAnne Viviano and Doug Whiteman in Columbus contributed to this report.

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