Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
On the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 18, more than 50 exotic, and even some endangered, animals were purposely let out of their cages to journey off. The animals had been kept on a private farm owned by Terry Thompson, just outside of Zanesville.
Sadly, Mr. Thompson sought to let his animals roam free just before he took his own life. This tragedy of nearly 50 dead beautiful creatures began with the death of Mr. Thompson and the extremely lax laws of Ohio.
The sheriffs and deputies of the Muskingum County Police Department have received a great deal of criticism for killing the animals. Many questions have been raised as to why the officers did not try to tranquilize the animals or force them into an enclosed area before resorting to a massacre of wildlife.
As members of the Muskingum County Police Department have stated, their main concern was the safety of Zanesville’s citizens.
“These animals were on the move and were showing aggressive behavior,” said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz.
Unfortunately, according to Sheriff Lutz, there was no time to waste.
Unlike the majority of public opinion, I believe that these officers did the right thing. Although it is heartbreaking, I can only imagine the multitude of lawsuits and mass anguish to follow if one of the animals attacked and killed a citizen. People are simply pointing fingers in the wrong direction.
Members of the Muskingum County Police Department are not the ones to blame; they did what they could in a time-sensitive situation. The real perpetrators are Ohio’s lawmakers. The state’s specific law regarding private possession of exotic animals states, “No person may bring into the state a non-domestic animal unless the possessor: obtains an entry permit; health certificate certifying the animal is free of infectious diseases; and a certificate of veterinary inspection.”
Ohio is one of few states in the United States that offer any alternative to a strict no-possession policy of exotic animals. But by no means does a certificate of possession or a veterinary health inspection validate one’s responsibility for the lives of exotic animals or one’s responsibility for the danger those animals pose to everyone around them.
As sadly proven, Ohio’s requirements for possession of exotic animals are too lenient. In addition to the inspections of the animals, inspections of the prospective owners should also be required. Owning large animals that are aggressive by nature should be scrutinized just as carefully as owning a gun.
It is unfortunate that this grievous event had to occur at all, but thankfully, because of it, it will not happen again. New legislation is now progressing in Ohio that, when passed, will be effective immediately. Named the House Bill 352, it would “ban all future ownership of dangerous exotic animals, defined as, but not limited to, big cats, nonhuman primates, alligators, crocodiles and constricting and/or venomous snakes.”
The Muskingum County Police Department was wrongly blamed for this tragic event. Those animals would not have been killed if wild animals were kept in no other place but the wild.