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Should the Ohio Exotic Animals Have Been Shot?

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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« on: October 21, 2011, 12:16:42 am »

Should the Ohio Exotic Animals Have Been Shot?
Scene described as "Noah's Ark wrecking" raises questions about laws, safety.




Exotic animal picture: Animals killed in Zanesville, Ohio

A tractor carries an animal carcass for burial at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, Ohio.

Photograph by Tony Dejak, AP

Ker Than

for National Geographic News

Published October 20, 2011

The recent shooting of dozens of exotic animals at a private farm in Zanesville, Ohio, is raising new questions about how to handle the growing number of exotics being kept as pets in the United States. (See pictures of the rescued exotic animals from Ohio.)

On Tuesday, Terry W. Thompson killed himself after releasing dozens of exotic animals from their cages at his Muskingum County Animal Farm near Zanesville (map).

As a result, 48 animals were shot and killed by law officers called to the scene. One witness described the aftermath as "Noah's Ark wrecking."

By Wednesday evening the animal death toll included 18 Bengal tigers, 17 lions, 6 black bears, 3 mountain lions, 2 grizzlies, a baboon, and a wolf.

Only six animals from the farm—three leopards, a grizzly bear, and two monkeys—were captured alive.

Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz defended the shootings, telling reporters that his officers had only about an hour before sunset to control the situation, and they didn't have immediate access to tranquilizer darts.

Most experts agreed that the Ohio officers had little choice but to kill the animals.

Unlike in television and movie portrayals, real tranquilizers take time to take effect, and the impact of a dart can make an animal aggressive or cause it to run.

Sedation "doesn't happen immediately," said Leigh Henry, a senior policy officer with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

In fact, a vet from a local zoo shot one of the tigers with a tranquilizer dart. But the animal started to run off, forcing officers to shoot and kill it.

Henry said that she believes the Ohio police did what was necessary.

"I'm not going to say who was right or wrong," she said. "I certainly wouldn't judge them for taking the actions that they did, when their primary responsibility was the safety of their community."

(See pictures of exotic animals rescued at the L.A. airport.)

Exotic Animal Shootings Highlight Need for Better Regs

Luke Dollar, program officer for National Geographic's Big Cats conservation initiative, said the public discussion should focus not on whether the animals should have been shot but on an absence of relevant legislation, which allowed Thompson's exotic-animal farm to exist in the first place.

"I hope we don't use this as a misdirected excuse to vilify or 'armchair quarterback' the men and women of law enforcement who were responding to an uncertain and dynamic situation with little chance of any good outcomes," Dollar said.

"This became an incident waiting to happen as soon as Thompson was able to buy that first tiger, then a lion, and so on. With proper legislation or regulation, we can prevent this from happening again."

(See why some conservationists call privately held exotic animals "ticking time bombs.")

Ohio is one of at least eight U.S. states that don't regulate ownership of exotic animals. It's also one of the few states that don't require residents to be federally licensed to keep wild animals by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

While what Thompson did may not have been technically illegal, by many accounts his treatment of the animals was unethical. Thompson had been reported for animal cruelty numerous times, and attempts had been made to confiscate the creatures on his farm.

More Tigers Captive Than Wild?

The Ohio animal shootings also cast a spotlight specifically on the increasing number of captive tigers in the United States.

According to a recent WWF report, there are an estimated 5,000 captive tigers in the U.S.—a number that far exceeds the approximately 3,200 individuals believed to exist in the wild.

Captive tigers in the U.S. are often given as gifts when they're cubs. Owners later realize they don't want to care for the big cats when they grow older and more dangerous.

(Find out how the exotic-animal trade is creating a "python nightmare" in Florida.)

"What you end up with is a situation ripe for exploitation," said WWF's Henry, who was a co-author on the tiger report.

"Under the current system, parts from these domestic tigers in the U.S. can easily enter the illegal medicine market, and our concern is that that will help perpetuate or increase the demand for tiger products.

"That in turn will increase the threat to wild tigers," since parts from wild animals are perceived as being more valuable.

(Video: Tiger Trade Slashes Big Cats' Numbers.)

How Can People and Exotic Animals Coexist?

Laly Lichtenfeld, a wildlife conservationist and the executive director of the African People & Wildlife Fund, also worries that the Ohio incident will send the wrong message about how people in the U.S. feel about wild animals.

"I work directly with local communities [in Africa] who live with large animals like lions and elephants on a daily basis," said Lichtenfeld, who is also a National Geographic Society grantee. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)

(Related: "Lions, Elephants Speared Near Kenya Wildlife Park.")

"We're working very hard to find a way for people to do that, which is both safe for those people and the wildlife. So when something like this happens, it really calls into question whether there's a double standard," she said.

"When there are large animals in our backyard, we don't want them, but we're hoping that the rest of the global community will tolerate them.

"We really need to take an inward look at that."


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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2011, 12:18:06 am »

Pictures: Lucky Few Exotic Animals Saved From Ohio Shootings



One of the Fortunate Few

Photograph by Graham S. Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium via AP

A leopard, one of only six escaped exotic animals to survive this week's shootings near Zanesville (map), Ohio, looks toward an uncertain future from a safe enclosure at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's hospital on Thursday. (Read "Should the Ohio Exotic Animals Have Been Shot?")

The rescued animals' future homes are anyone's guess. "They're being kept here until there is some legal or other resolution of their status," said zoo spokesperson Patty Peters.

(Watch National Geographic video on the exotic-animal escape in Ohio.)

"We're taking care of them for now, and maybe for the future, but by law they're still the legal property of the people who owned them," Peters added.

On Tuesday, Terry W. Thompson-owner of the private, 73-acre (30-hectare) Muskingum County Animal Farm-released the leopard, along with more than 50 other exotic animals, including 18 Bengal tigers, 17 African lions, 8 bears, 3 mountain lions, a baboon, and a wolf.

Moments later Thompson committed suicide, leaving behind a wife and other family members who could claim the animals.

Sheriff's deputies subsequently shot and killed 48 of the escaped animals, which had been deemed a serious threat to public safety. One animal, a macaque monkey, remains missing and may have been eaten by one of the big cats, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz told reporters Thursday.

(See pictures of exotic animals rescued at the L.A. airport.)

—Brian Handwerk

Published October 20, 2011

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/10/pictures/111020-exotic-animals-zanesville-ohio-nation-science-zoo/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ng%2FNews%2FNews_Main+%28National+Geographic+News+-+Main%29
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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2011, 12:18:52 am »

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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2011, 12:19:47 am »



Lucky Monkey

Photograph by Graham S. Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium via AP

Two macaques—including this one pictured Thursday at the Columbus Zoo—three leopards, and a grizzly bear are the only animals either captured or missing after authorities opened fire on more than 50 exotic animals that had been freed from a backyard zoo near Zanesville, Ohio, Tuesday.

When local law enforcement officials arrived Tuesday, night was falling and they had no nonlethal way to prevent the animals from running into nearby neighborhoods, the Muskingum County Sherriff's Office announced.

(Find out how the exotic-animal trade is creating a "python nightmare" in Florida.)

Published October 20, 2011
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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2011, 12:20:44 am »



Black Panther

Photograph by Graham S. Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium via AP

A black leopard, one of six survivors of the Ohio exotic-animal escape, finds refuge at the Columbus Zoo on Thursday.

At least eight U.S. states, including Ohio, allow anyone to own dangerous exotic animals with no license or permit, no regulation of living conditions, and no facility inspections, according to Ian Robinson, a veterinarian and the International Fund for Animal Welfare's (IFAW) Emergency Relief Program Director.

"There are more privately owned tigers in the U.S. than there are living in the wild in the rest of the world, which is staggering," Robinson said. (See why some conservationists call privately held exotic animals "ticking time bombs.")

"You can go online and buy a tiger for the price of a Labrador and keep it in your backyard in these states that have no regulations. You can buy two and breed them. Until one gets out and hurts somebody, nobody even knows they're there."

Far more often, it's the animals that pay the price, he added, suffering in inadequate conditions with owners who got far more than they'd bargained for.

(Related: Help National Geographic's Big Cats conservation initiative save wild felines.)

Published October 20, 2011
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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2011, 12:21:23 am »



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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2011, 12:21:27 am »



"In Good Health"

Photograph by Graham S. Jones, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium via AP

On Thursday a young grizzly peers through the bars of an enclosure at the Columbus Zoo, where authorities say the bear and four other rescued animals that had to be sedated are recovering nicely.

"They are in good health right now," said Doug Warmolts, the zoo's director of animal care. "The three leopards and the grizzly cub had to be sedated in order to move them here, so we watched them very closely overnight, but they are all recovering nicely.

"All the animals have accepted food and water," Warmolts added, "and they are in a wing of our hospital where we quarantine new arrivals in individual quarters."

(Pictures: finding Florida's exotic-animal invaders.)

Published October 20, 2011
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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #7 on: October 21, 2011, 12:23:02 am »



The Unlucky Ones

Photograph by Tony Dejak, AP

Authorities on Wednesday prepare to bury exotic animals killed at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Ohio.

"The scope of this tragedy is something that I'll never forget. In 24 years in the business, I've never seen anything like this," the Columbus Zoo's Warmolts said.

"But by yesterday morning we'd heard from nearly every AZA [Association of Zoos and Aquariums] zoo within 250 miles [400 kilometers], and they were ready to head our way with people and resources to assist in any way they could.

"Moments like that make you feel very proud of the people you work with in this industry."

More: Exotic-animal theft on the rise at zoos >>

Published October 20, 2011

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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #8 on: October 21, 2011, 12:24:00 am »

Bastards.  I can't believe that killing these animals was thought to be the only option. Some of these animals had not even left the confines of the farm they lived on.
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Tresa Gilbert-Diehme
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« Reply #9 on: October 21, 2011, 12:28:00 am »

These poor beautiful animals lived their lives in a cage and enjoyed one second of freedom before being hunted down. The shoot-to-kill method was absolutely insane, unreasonable and sickening. There was no real attempt to think about saving these animals' lives, not one. There is no reason why this many of the animals had to die.

The problem in this situation is that these trigger happy backwoods safari hunters with big guns had the shoot first "justify" later mentality. They need to be held accountable for their actions!

Oh yeah Jack Hanna these animals did not unite and come after these "men"- so get off your high horse- it was not justifiable that this many animals died, a true animal lover and supporter would not believe this was justifiable by an means!

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