Throughout Tuesday night and yesterday's early morning hours, Muskingum County deputies chased after 56 exotic animals that had escaped from an area preserve. The rain-soaked deputies were forced to follow one simple order amid the chaos: Shoot to kill.
What might or might not have been on the mind of those attempting to track down the animals, though, was planned legislation leftover from the Strickland administration aimed at regulating the possession, sale and ownership of exotic animals in Ohio.
As Ohioans wait for the penning of that legislation, animal experts have expressed concern about irresponsible owners.
“You have got to work with the good owners and weed out the bad,” said Jim Galvin, who founded Midwest Big Cat Care near New Marshfield.
Galvin was one of the volunteers who drove to Zanesville Tuesday evening to help officials hunt down the 56 escaped animals, which were allegedly let out of their pens before preserve owner Terry Thompson committed suicide.
The preserve housed lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears.
In a news conference yesterday, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz confirmed that 49 of 56 escaped animals had been killed and only one remained in the wild. The remaining six were transported to both the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds, a private, non-profit conservation center just southeast of Zanesville.
The lone animal free as of press time was a monkey, which is carrying herpes B.
“It was shoot to kill, and I understand that,” Galvin said. “But if Mother Nature wants ’em gone, that’s one thing. … We sure as hell shouldn’t have to be in that position.”
Galvin added that, if public and private owners in the state took proper precautions, situations such as Tuesday’s and harsh regulatory laws concerning exotic-animal possession would be avoided.
In Ohio, people who own the animals for exhibits or breeding purposes must be licensed through the USDA. As of right now, however, there is no legislation in place forcing private owners to file any kind of permit, said Laura Jones, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
“This will provide the momentum to get this thing passed,” Galvin said. “It scares me that they’ll go too far and get rid of (all the animals). … Who’s going to enforce that?”
Next Monday, a group of 10 organizations put together by Gov. John Kasich will meet — not for the first time — and try to move closer to finalizing exotic- and Ohio native-animal regulations.
The group comprises the Columbus Zoo; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA; the Ohio chapter of the Humane Society of the United States; Knox County Prosecutor’s Office; Ohio Association of Animal Owners; Ohio Farm Bureau; Ohio Department of Natural Resources; Ohio Veterinary Medical Association; U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance; and the Zoo Association of America.
Despite Tuesday’s debacle and the fatal mauling of an Ohio man by a privately owned black bear last year, the group is sticking to its original late-fall deadline for the finalized legislation.
“We want to make sure this is a proposal that has comments and input from a diverse group and also that there is a period for public comment,” Jones said.
Columbus Zoo Director Emeritus Jack Hanna, also present at Tuesday’s news conference, made his opinions clear on the to-be-penned legislation.
“Expect a knock on the door. ... If this law is passed and they have these animals, they better have the proper set up,” Hanna said, adding that those involved with the chase and killing of the escaped animals were not proud of their actions.
“If you saw the faces of some of these deputies at 5 in the morning ... they felt the pain. … These guys did not enjoy what they did last night,” he said.
Lutz added to Hanna’s statement that the animals exhibited aggressive behavior Tuesday night, forcing deputies to take extreme action.
Legislation or not, Galvin stressed that owners of exotic animals can take simple precautions to avoid emergency situations.
“They must understand the needs of the animal and that ownership is a 24/7 commitment,” Galvin said, adding that much of responsible ownership amounts to common sense. “They must understand the behavior of the animal and prepare proper conditions for it to live in.”
Galvin added that not having a sizable animal preserve so close to Zanesville — or any city — is a no-brainer.
Though Tuesday’s events led to more questions than answers for those who own exotic and wild animals, Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s Chief of
Wildlife Dave Lane believes they will expedite the lawmaking process.
“I would think (Tuesday’s) events would add a sense of urgency,” Lane said.
ph835608@ohiou.edu
