BerniesElbow Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 http://abcnews.go.com/US/zanesville-deputy-killed-charging-bear-shot-feet/story?id=14775964 This is a sad story. Many, if not most of the animals killed, were on the "Endangered" or "Threatened" species lists. 18 Bengal tigers were killed and, according to Jack Hanna, there were/are only 1400 left in the world. Lets see---Grizzlies I believe were just recently taken off of the endangered list, Cougars, American Bison, Gray Wolf, Cheetahs, Chimpanzees, Tigers...thats all I can think of off the top of my head. The dead also included a white tiger. Some of the news and newspaper/blog reports were making it sound like lions were chasing people down the street, like "Jumanji" or something. It was my understanding that 6 animals actually made it off property. According to the local Sheriff, public safety was first and foremost on his mind. So he gave orders that if the animals looked like they could not be contained (they were ALL released from their individual enclosures), they were to be put down. They were basically just wandering around the property. A few animals were captured alive. But this is a county sheriffs department that does not have the training or resources (tranquilizers) at their disposal to deal with such an incident. All of these animals were of different sizes and several different species. These guys dont know anything about tranquilizing animals. It was a catch-22 situation. If someone were to get hurt or killed by one of these things, people would be losing their minds. A human life will always be held in higher regard than that of an animals life, like it or not. Ohio has the most lax animal control laws in the U.S. To quote Jack Hanna "Its like the wild west in Ohio." Basically as long as you have a large enough cage and obtained the animals legally (sounds like another grey area to me?), you can keep whatever and however many you want here. Hanna has since said he will make it his lifes (hes from here, too) work to get the Ohio legislature to enact much stricter laws. Oh, I almost forgot. Ex-governor Strickland actually had a bill pending with tougher animal control laws and his successor, Gov. Kasich killed the bill soon after taking office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peever Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I could not believe that instead of darting the animals and bringing them somewhere else they were just told "shoot to kill". Unbelievable that this happened but at the same time not that surprising as it happened in America..... As for the animal laws it was on CNN last night that 12 or 13 states have no laws on having rhese types of animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted October 20, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted October 20, 2011 A real shame! The bloke who set them free is solely at fault, not the police who have to consider the safety of the public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerniesElbow Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 @Peever-- with all due respect, it was night and it was raining. There were 60 wild animals running loose around the property, 76 acres of land. Would you have volunteered to go in there with a couple of tranquilizer guns and a flashlight? Remember, they had to prevent these things from escaping. "Unbelievable that this happened but at the same time not that surprising as it happened in America....."----not quite sure what you mean by that so I wont comment. @Nigel--You hit the nail on the head. I'm sure they were not thrilled about having to shoot these animals either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I could not believe that instead of darting the animals and bringing them somewhere else they were just told "shoot to kill". Unbelievable that this happened but at the same time not that surprising as it happened in America..... As for the animal laws it was on CNN last night that 12 or 13 states have no laws on having rhese types of animals. Just another example of why wild animals need to be left in the wild. Sickening story. As for your "America" comment....it was night time, dozens of alpha predators were spreading out all over a residential area....even with Animal Control mobilized, they were never going to be able to dart all the animals...it's not like they were out in the Grand Canyon. It became a public safety matter, and it's a good thing no little kid was torn to pieces by a **** leopard. The police were in a gut wrenching situation, but did the right thing, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Dogg Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 You'd have to wonder about the trafficking of animals etc that takes place when a guy can collect 18 Bengal tigers, a most rare and endangered species, for his amusement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 20, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted October 20, 2011 Sad story. Don't think the police really had any choice. If they hadn't shot them and the animals had mauled someone then they'd get crucified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 you'd be amazed at how much people in this part of the world give a shit about animals, compared to the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted October 21, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted October 21, 2011 Absolute tragedy. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Strange that a man who (presumably) cared a lot about animals consigned them all to death in such a way. I can't believe he was stupid enough to think he was actually setting the animals 'free'. I real shit story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissmith921 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 The line of the day was from the police officer at the press conference. "The monkey is still at large" Go on chimp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerniesElbow Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 They have given the search for the monkey. It has also been reported that the monkey was infected with Herpes B. The speculation is that one of the cats ate it. I can see reports of a baby bigfoot with cold sores running around Ohio in 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted October 21, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted October 21, 2011 The line of the day was from the police officer at the press conference. "The monkey is still at large" Go on chimp!A chimp is not a monkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissmith921 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 The line of the day was from the police officer at the press conference. "The monkey is still at large" Go on chimp!A chimp is not a monkey. And a monkey is not a chimp. Whats your point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerniesElbow Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Governor Kasich "Johnny on the spot!" http://www.woio.com/story/15768159/gov-kasich-announces-signing-of-exotic-pets-bill?Call=Email&Format=Text Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I could not believe that instead of darting the animals and bringing them somewhere else they were just told "shoot to kill". Unbelievable that this happened but at the same time not that surprising as it happened in America..... As for the animal laws it was on CNN last night that 12 or 13 states have no laws on having rhese types of animals. Local custom, surely? After all, they shot some students who were complaining that the illegal invasion of Cambodia was, well, illegal. Guess that's how it goes in O-hi-o. Or perhaps we shouldn't generalise about a whole area on the basis of one episode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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