Animal Slaughter in Ohio

[JOHNNIE36]

I am just sick over what happened to those poor animals in Zanesville,Ohio. Maybe they are better off dead instead of being under the "care" of that goofball. What a story and what a destruction of those beautiful animals. I understand that the authorities had no choice but to shoot them giving the timing. I'll bet the govenor of Ohio is really glad he recinded the law just passed by the previous govenor, that would have prevented private owning of those type animals.

 

[travelover]

I agree- very sad, especially the tigers which are so endangered.

 

[Achiever51]

This is unbelieveably tragic. Those animals are majestic, but definitely do not belong in private, unregulated "zoos." It is just fortunate that no people were harmed in this disaster, but horrible that the local authorities really had no other option but shooting to kill.

 

[modhatter]

I agree. Why weren't tranquilizer guns used instead. You could have a second shooter stand by in case you missed. Just don't get it.

 

[mickj]

I doubt the police that responded to the 911 calls have tranquilizer guns

 

[Sarah in SC]

Jack Hanna, the famous President Emeritus of the zoo there, confirmed that tranquilizers couldn't be used at night, because of the unpredictable nature of the animals after being shot with them. He concluded, regretfully, that there were no other options for the officers involved. Very sad story and the blame falls squarely on the now-deceased owner of this private zoo. Let's hope this incident will bolster states to more tightly regulate these questionable amateur zoo owners.

 

[freebird5825]

I am saddened by the loss of the animals, but imagine being in that area with those kind and number of wild animals (carnivores) roaming freely in the darkness, on the hunt. Shudder.

This article may illuminate the story a bit better.

All Animals Accounted For In Zanesville, OH; Big Cat Ate A Monkey | wusa9.com

 

[Brat]

The person who let them loose was a private party who owned the 'zoo'. He committed suicide after doing that.

The fact that the animals were on the loose was discovered a couple hours before nightfall, they couldn't track them. Local police do not have tranquilizer guns or the ability to know how to sedate these animals. This just isn't something that can be done quickly. Assuming you manage to sedate the animal then you need to put them into some sort of cage so that they can be revived safely (for the animal and the humans). This was not just one large preditator but dozens. I don't think they had choices.

Shame on the state that had laws which permitted this condition to develop.

 

[skyvue]

Agreed. If 2 lions had got out you might have had sedation as an option. They could have followed/tracked them and waited on authorities (trained zoo people). In this case there were over 35 lions and tigers alone running all over the place with only a handful of sheriff's deputies on site. All they saw were the animals running away and in danger of getting into some sub divisions nearby.

The only villian here is the guy who let all the animals out and killed himself.

 

[Texas Proud]

Jack Hanna, the famous President Emeritus of the zoo there, confirmed that tranquilizers couldn't be used at night, because of the unpredictable nature of the animals after being shot with them. He concluded, regretfully, that there were no other options for the officers involved. Very sad story and the blame falls squarely on the now-deceased owner of this private zoo. Let's hope this incident will bolster states to more tightly regulate these questionable amateur zoo owners.

I saw a longer interview with him (I think CNN).... he said that they only had 4 tranq guns... and that in one instance the animal was shot with a tranq, but then lunged or ran at the vet who shot it.... he said it would take 6 minutes before the tranq even started to work... IOW, this animal was killed because it was attacking a person..

He also said that law enforcement is not trained to handle tigers and bears etc... that when confronted with an animal, the only response was to kill it...


This is my opinion from what he said as I did not hear it said directly, but basically they could not wait until the next day to try and save some of these animals because there was to much danger to human life... IOW, if they did not get them as fast as they could and a person was killed by one of them, it would have been worse...

I just remembered when typing... he also said they found part of a monkey... which was also released... it seems that one of the animal had killed and eaten him... so it was a safety issue....

 

[FUEGO]

Glad no humans were hurt.

For those second guessing the decision to use lethal force, imagine a news story that read "Police Captain under fire after 7 viciously maimed and killed by roving bands of deadly animals. After unsuccessfully attempting to use less than lethal tranquilizer guns to contain the animals, the embattled police captain authorized lethal force, but not before seven innocent children and women were ripped apart."

 

[JPatrick]

They were hampered by the fact that very little daylight remained following the release.
I wouldn't try to Monday morning quarterback, but one question I'd be curious about, would be the planning or lack thereof for such an event.
Anytime you have an element present that could lead to a catastrophy (nuke plant, dam, airport with flightpath proximity to large numbers of houses, wild animal park, etc) a contingency plan is necessary, because sooner or later it will be needed.
I wonder what their's was, because they clearly had concerns about it for quite some time

 

[Mulligan]

Glad no humans were hurt.

For those second guessing the decision to use lethal force, imagine a news story that read "Police Captain under fire after 7 viciously maimed and killed by roving bands of deadly animals. After unsuccessfully attempting to use less than lethal tranquilizer guns to contain the animals, the embattled police captain authorized lethal force, but not before seven innocent children and women were ripped apart."

Don't think for a moment your above comment wouldn't have been the opening paragraph in the newspaper if that had happened! Could you imagine walking outside to get your morning newspaper on the driveway and having 3 lions encircling you in your subdivision? I think I would be dead from a heart attack before they touched me.

 

[Walt34]

I doubt the police that responded to the 911 calls have tranquilizer guns

They don't.

The only time I ever fired a weapon outside the practice range in 29 years of police work was for a black bear in a suburban area. It made the front page above the fold of the local paper for three days running with all the animal lovers bemoaning the action.

We did try to get a tranquilizer gun but that's kinda hard to do on short notice at 9:00 AM Sunday morning. A wild black bear (or any bear) is not Gentle Ben, which is what all the suburbanites seemed to think, since the [-]idiots[/-] gawkers kept coming out in pajamas (with their kids no less!) to take pictures. So with the approval of the state Natural Resources officer I shot it. No apologies.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I haven't heard any reports yet as to what might have prompted this guy to let the animals go and then kill himself. There was something about him recently being released from federal prison. He was in on a weapons charge of some kind. I'm guessing that he and his wife had split up and you know how stuff like that can cause problems. No telling what the motive was in the suicide. I'll bet that govener will get an earfull from the people in Ohio and the press will be on him flies on stink.

 

[samclem]

I doubt the police that responded to the 911 calls have tranquilizer guns

EVERY gun is a tranquilizer gun.

 

[TN_INVEST]

EVERY gun is a tranquilizer gun.

For clarity, perhaps they should have stated they don't have tranquilizer ammo?? (or whatever you call the flying projectiles full of drugs that sedate the animals long enough to capture them, transport them safely before they "wake" back up).

Guess I'm a little confused about your comment.

 

[TromboneAl]

Dead people (or animals) are very tranquil.

 

[samclem]

For clarity, perhaps they should have stated they don't have tranquilizer ammo?? (or whatever you call the flying projectiles full of drugs that sedate the animals long enough to capture them, transport them safely before they "wake" back up).

Guess I'm a little confused about your comment.

Sorry, I was just observing that the use of a firearm in these instances results in the animal become tranquil. Permanently.

 

[Brat]

I too hear Jack Hanna's interview. Another issue is that they would have had no facility able to care for these creatures on short notice. He wants the states to halt auctions of these species immediately.

 

[Mulligan]

I am definitely an animal lover, and it's a shame it had to happen. But, hats off to the law enforcement for a job well done. I'm sure this situation isn't in first few chapters of the police handbook. Darkness approaching, wild, dangerous animals on the loose. I'm sure it wasn't like they were shooting ducks at the carnival gallery. The officers were put in a dangerous spot themselves to protect the public and appears to have preformed admirably.

 

[Sue J]

The owner was just selfish to commit suicide and leave his animals, his community and HIS WIFE to deal with the aftermath of his actions. It almost looks like he was taking revenge on all the people who had made him angry.

I wonder if after being incarcerated he didn't want the animals kept captive anymore. I think he loved the animals but got way in over his head. He got in trouble with the law for gun violations and animal conditions. It's coming out that he was having financial problems.

Watching the news clips with Jack Hanna, he almost looks traumatized. He devotes his life to proper care and treatment of animals and then has to witness this slaughter because of this man's obsession with owning exotic animals.

The sheriff made a difficult but necessary decision. Tragic all around, but better than what could have happened if he would have waited.

 

[harley]

It could have been even worse!

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[TromboneAl]

IIRC Jack Hanna once owned exotic animals at his home including a lion. One day the lion grabbed a kid's arm through the bars and pulled it off.