samoyedman Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 This is doing the rounds in the news. You have to wonder how someone like this, who was clearly unstable and neighbours had been complaining about for years, was permitted to own all these animals? http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/shoottokill-hunt-as-beasts-run-wild-20111020-1m8no.html An Ohio sheriff says 48 of about 56 exotic animals were killed by deputies after their owner freed them and committed suicide.Dozens of exotic animals including tigers, lions and bears were let loose on Ohio farmland by their owner before he committed suicide, sparking a shoot-to-kill hunt for the wild beasts and forcing panicked residents to stay inside on Wednesday. After a grizzly bear and a mountain lion were captured, only one monkey and one grey wolf remained unaccounted for out of 56 animals on the farm, said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz. Forty-eight of the animals were killed and buried on the farm, while six were recaptured. The animals had roamed out of their cages and off the farm and one went as far as an interstate highway, Interstate 70, shortly before dark on Tuesday near Zanesville in eastern Ohio. US authorities shut down schools and posted electronic warning signs "Caution Exotic Animals" for motorists and urged people to stay inside. "We are not talking about your normal every day house cat or dog. These are 300-pound Bengal tigers that we had to put down," Lutz said. "I gave the order ... that if animals looked like they were on their way out, they were put down." Owner Terry Thompson, who had been charged with animal cruelty 11 times since 2004, was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted wound when authorities went to the farm on Tuesday after reports of animals running free, Lutz said. They found gates and animal pens open. "There were animals running loose outside the fenced area," he said at a news conference. Some, including primates, were secured on the farm. Lutz said animals kept at the farm included wolves, grizzly and black bears and many types of "big cats" such as cheetahs, mountain lions and leopards, in addition to lions and tigers. Authorities said they had received about 35 calls about the menagerie over the years, ranging from animals running loose to not being treated properly, Lutz said. "We've handled numerous complaints here, we've done numerous inspections here," he said. "So this has been a huge problem for us for a number of years." Thompson left his horses undernourished, then fed them to lions when they died, said Larry Hostetler, executive director of the Muskingum County Animal Shelter. Thompson was released last month from federal prison on a firearms conviction. Lutz said his wife, Marian, had threatened to divorce him and was no longer living on the farm. Lutz described the freed animals found as "mature, very big and aggressive". One bear attacked a law enforcement officer, Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, told ABC News. Another animal - some type of big cat - wandered onto an interstate highway and was hit by a vehicle, Lutz said. The sheriff said they tried to shoot some of the animals with tranquilizer guns but encountered problems. "We just had a huge tiger, an adult tiger that must've weighed 300 pounds that was very aggressive," Lutz said. "We got a tranquilizer in it and this thing just went crazy." The tiger was then killed, he said. Lutz said he issued a shoot-to-kill order on Tuesday evening and stationed officers on Interstate 70 about a mile (1.6km) west of the Zanesville city limits to prevent animals from crossing. "We were not going to have animals running loose off this farm at night," he told reporters. He said he also ordered the schools closed on Wednesday. "We didn't want kids standing at the bus stop while wild animals were loose," Lutz said. Hanna told the news conference Lutz and his deputies did the right thing. "These are dangerous animals," Hanna said. "He and other people there are doing everything they can to capture the animals humanely but these are dangerous animals." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crumpolo Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Terrible stuff. 11 counts of cruelty and allowed to keep so many animals seems ludicrous. Shame they had to shoot them, but with so many dangerous animals running free i cant see them being prepared to tranquilise. How rich was this guy to have such a huge private zoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I don't think that private citizens should be allowed to keep wild animals as pets. A farm with a fence is hardly an appropriate place for a lion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 No surprise, this is getting a lot of press in the old US of A. One of the things about having 50 states is there's one of everything . . . turns out that Ohio was absurdly liberal in laws allowing exotic pets. Don't think that's going to last long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 That's really sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 sounds like a massacre, how sad, and I agree that private people shouldn't be allowed to have exotic and endangered animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerojath Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 sounds like a massacre, how sad, and I agree that private people shouldn't be allowed to have exotic and endangered animals. I agree, to an extent, but what about all the hundreds of thousands of people who keep 'exotics' that we never hear about? MOST people buy them, keep them in good conditions their entire lives and then the pets die. I don't see how them being 'exotics' makes it wrong. This situation could have been just as awful had he released 56 non-exotic Bulls! In my experience, people who tend to keep exotics usually keep them in a better fashion than most people keep domestic pets. Besides Zoos, we in Australia are allowed to keep NO exotics at all, yet I know lots of people who keep Corn Snakes, Boas, Iguanas, Chameleons etc and these people would protect their pets with their life. The fact this particular man was allowed to keep any animals at all in the condition some were in, or even in the mental state he was in, is more the point here I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda K Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Ohio is apparently one of 4 states that has no restriction on this type of thing, they hold exotic animal auctions, and people do not have any requirement to have a permit or licence to keep them, there are no guidelines, property inspections etc. Would be nice f this changed, but not holding my breath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atanquin Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 What has me stunned is that he had been charged 11 time for animal cruelty why so many he should have been locked up and not allowed animals and this would not have happened, there are not harsh enough laws regarding animal cruelty. It sounds like he was not well at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiff-689 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 A very odd news story to wake up to this morning! Absolutely awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 sounds like a massacre, how sad, and I agree that private people shouldn't be allowed to have exotic and endangered animals. I agree, to an extent, but what about all the hundreds of thousands of people who keep 'exotics' that we never hear about? MOST people buy them, keep them in good conditions their entire lives and then the pets die. I don't see how them being 'exotics' makes it wrong. This situation could have been just as awful had he released 56 non-exotic Bulls! In my experience, people who tend to keep exotics usually keep them in a better fashion than most people keep domestic pets. Besides Zoos, we in Australia are allowed to keep NO exotics at all, yet I know lots of people who keep Corn Snakes, Boas, Iguanas, Chameleons etc and these people would protect their pets with their life. The fact this particular man was allowed to keep any animals at all in the condition some were in, or even in the mental state he was in, is more the point here I think. A big cat has considerably more complex needs than a small lizard. You really can't compare one to the other when discussing the issue of the keeping of exotic animals by the public. Tigers do not belong in small cages in backyards. No wild animal deserves that sort of life, really. Unless theyt're being properly bred for release programs or being used to improve our knowledge of behaviour (again, to help preserve wildlife), they dont belong in captivity. As far as I'm concerned, it's really as simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 He starved his horses till they died and then fed them to the lions? What an evil b--tard. So many counts of animal cruelty, why the hell was this guy allowed to even have a guinea pig, let alone all these poor animals. I don't agree with normal citizens owning exotics because they can afford to buy them. If they don't have any specialist animal husbandry skills and a suitable environment which caters to all the individual animal needs then they shouldn't have them. Who knows what these poor animals endured and then they get shot? Perhaps it was a blessing but they all deserved so much more than what they got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 They slaughtered 18 Bengal tigers- there is only 1400 left in the world. Poorly handled and a complete failure well before the animals ever got loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris the Rebel Wolf Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I agree - after 1 coutns of animal cruelty there is no way this man should have been allowed to own animals. Let alone ones with needs as complex and as potentially dangerous as he did. Ohio has something to answer for in their lack of enforcements/restrictions on these, but this is yet another example of the exotic pet trade in general. While I do know of people who have exotics and keep them very well - and to some extend I agree that people with exotics are more likely to be responsible - but there are always exceptions. I don't believe that the largest of wild animals 0- - bears, big cats - should be kept outside of experienced zoos. I feel very sorry for these animals. From the sounds of it they were poorly kept to begin with, and now to face being shot. I understand why it was necessary of course, but still very sad. This clown could have re homed them with zoos or something of the kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crumpolo Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 They slaughtered 18 Bengal tigers- there is only 1400 left in the world. Poorly handled and a complete failure well before the animals ever got loose. I almost don't believe you that figure is so terrible. Such a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 They slaughtered 18 Bengal tigers- there is only 1400 left in the world. Poorly handled and a complete failure well before the animals ever got loose. I almost don't believe you that figure is so terrible. Such a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lavendergirl Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 They slaughtered 18 Bengal tigers- there is only 1400 left in the world. Poorly handled and a complete failure well before the animals ever got loose. I almost don't believe you that figure is so terrible. Such a shame. Those are the figures being widely reported. Poor creatures - a stupid knee jerk reaction to just kill these beautiful animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misha&milo Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I read all about this on facebook this morning.... This CLOWN was only released from jail recently ???? so who was looking after them while he was locked away He had it in for his neighbours because of the complaints etc...... someone should have seen this coming When I saw the first image on facebook I thought that it was of lions and tigers sleeping together , and thought "wow" that quickly turned to horror after a started to read about it. What a sad sad day and what a stupid country to be allowed to be able to do this and keep them in the first place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncarter Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Only in America, idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belljari Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 He starved his horses till they died and then fed them to the lions? What an evil b--tard. So many counts of animal cruelty, why the hell was this guy allowed to even have a guinea pig, let alone all these poor animals. I don't agree with normal citizens owning exotics because they can afford to buy them. If they don't have any specialist animal husbandry skills and a suitable environment which caters to all the individual animal needs then they shouldn't have them. Who knows what these poor animals endured and then they get shot? Perhaps it was a blessing but they all deserved so much more than what they got. I so agree! They slaughtered 18 Bengal tigers- there is only 1400 left in the world. Poorly handled and a complete failure well before the animals ever got loose. It just breaks my heart!When you think some idiot in America can have 18 of these beautiful creatures and not look after them makes me so angry! Only in America, idiots. Ain't that the truth! they should not be able to have exotic endangered species, its not right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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