So I turned on the teevee news this morning and heard that a man in eastern Ohio near Zavesville was found dead and four dozen or so exotic wild animals were let out of their cages http://www.dispatch.com/...
Evidently this man had committed suicide, releasing the animals from their cages first (although the chimps and oragutans were still caged in the house). He was facing federal jail time for illegal weapons charges, possessing about 100 firearms and at least one automatic weapon. His wife had recently left him. Unfortunately, the local deputies, responding to wild animal complaints, drove up and found the dead man surrounded by wild animals, and began shooting the animals.
They have killed about 25 animals so far and now the Columbus Zoo is out there with tranquilizers, looking for the rest of the animals, which include wolves and cheetahs. School is canceled and people are being asked to call in sightings. I hope some can be saved. Hopefully the first response is over and more measured response can continue.
Apparently in Ohio no permits are required to own exotic wild animals (although the Fish and Wildlife limit possums and such). There was an executive order signed by Strickland that was allowed to lapse by Republican governor John Kasich. So there is a political issue involved- should people face any regulation at all when they want to keep tigers as pets or start an animal sanctuary? The neighbors weren't too crazy about this guy, whose animals got out periodically, but what can be done? To me it's just a tragedy. Some commenters in the linked article thought PETA killed this guy and let the animals out. Sadly, PETA are needed to help some people learn to treat animals ethically.
Updated: Here is more on the back story of this individual. http://www.dispatch.com/...
Here is some more on the search for the escaped animals.
Six animals -- a grizzly bear, three leopards and two monkeys -- were captured alive and taken to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and a monkey and a grey wolf were at large. The animals that were killed included 18 tigers, nine male lions, eight female lions, six black bears, three mountain lions, two grizzly bears, one baboon and one wolf, Sheriff Matt Lutz said. The escaped monkey poses a danger because it is infected with herpes, the sheriff said.
http://www.dispatch.com/...