Ohio police kill 49 exotic animals after escape from preserve

[News_Editor]

Ohio police kill 49 exotic animals after escape from preserve

2011-10-20 14:48:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

ZANESVILLE, OHIO (BNO NEWS) -- Dozens of exotic animals which escaped from an animal preserve in Ohio on Tuesday evening have been shot dead by police, officials said on Wednesday. Their owner apparently killed himself.

Terry Thompson, owner of the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, was found dead at the farm on late Tuesday afternoon. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Authorities believe Thompson opened all the animal cages before he killed himself, allowing his animals to escape into the countryside. It was not immediately known what motivated Thompson to release the dangerous animals or why he took his own life.

When police responded to the area at around 5.30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, following reports of exotic animals running loose, armed officers shot and killed as many as 25 animals as they made their way to Thompson's farm where they discovered more animals were missing.

Local authorities then began patrolling the area on the lookout for the missing animals, warning people to stay indoors until the animals were caught or killed. "These are wild animals. Wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa," said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz who gave 'shoot to kill' orders to his officers.

Deputies with assault rifles and thermal imaging equipment were deployed in search of the exotic animals, which Lutz described as "mature, very large, and aggressive." However, some have criticized authorities for killing the animals, which include endangered Bengal tigers.

Members of the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds had brought tranquilizers to the scene, but Lutz said they were only there in the event that an animal got near residential houses where it would be unsafe for police officers to open fire.

In all, 49 of the 56 exotic animals which escaped from the farm were shot dead by police. Those killed include 18 Bengal tigers, nine male lions, eight female lions, six black bears, three mountain lions, two grizzly bears, one baboon and two wolves. One missing monkey is believed to have been eaten by a large cat.

Police, being assisted by animal experts and a SWAT team, managed to capture six animals alive before they were taken to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Lutz said the captured animals are a grizzly bear, three leopards and two monkeys.

The Columbus Zoo and the Muskingum County Humane Society had previously visited the animal preserve in June 2008 after several complaints were received, arguing that the animals were in poor condition. Thompson was not charged after the visit but between 2004 and 2009 he had 11 misdemeanor charges for either animal at large or animal cruelty.

Animal expert and zookeeper Jack Hanna described the situation as 'tragic' and strongly criticized animal auctions and Thompson's ownership of the animals. Although Thompson had legal documents that allowed him to keep such animals at his property, Hanna said he should not have had them, comparing animal auctions to drug trafficking.

"It's just like drugs," Hanna said during an interview on local television. "This guy had the animals, but where do the animals come from? Where are they getting the animals from?"

"We have to get the source of [these animals] and some of them are animal auctions," Hanna underlined, adding that it takes millions of dollars to adequately care for wild animals.

Thompson had just finished a one year and one day prison term, which he received in October 2010 for two federal counts of possessing illegal firearms. The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched his home in 2008 and seized 133 weapons and a small amount of ammunition. Eight of those firearms did not have serial numbers. Thompson was also a former gun dealer.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-20

[GentlemanJim]

Wow!

They just shot 1% of the worlds Bengal Tigers!

[sbk]

It was late night and their owner released them, I realize he couldn't have been thinking very clearly since he then killed himself but to subject those animals to that is terrible, as far as I am concerned, he is responsible for their deaths. Couldn't have been much of an animal lover to behave that way, regardless of how depressed.

[Moonrakers]

Poor animals.

But the police were left with no other choice.

[geriatrickid]

Poor animals.

But the police were left with no other choice.

The state governor did have a choice and he had allowed the law on the matter to lapse.

Amazing that a day later he signed a new order.

Ohio can add another embarrassment to its political corruption scandals and horrendeous environmental track record.

[elgato]

Sad that the bumpkin sheriff didn't allow tranquilizers to save the animals.

[softgeorge]

Sad that the bumpkin sheriff didn't allow tranquilizers to save the animals.

Agree he just pushed the bengal tiger 10 steps closer to extinction.

[JemJem]

Sad ! That is a massacre !

Jem