Posted on 10/19/2011 5:19:33 PM PDT by mdittmar
Zanesville, Ohio, sheriff's deputies armed with assault rifles opened fire on dozens of "mature, very big, aggressive" lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, and bears who had escaped from a private menagerie in Ohio after the farm's owner, Terry Thompson, was found dead and the animals' cage doors were left open and fences unsecured. Chimpanzees and orangutans were found locked in cages inside the house. At least 30 animals have been killed, and several more remain at large.
Thompson had a long history of brushes with the law and had just completed a one-year sentence on two federal counts of possessing illegal firearms. In November 2005, Thompson was convicted of, among other things, cruelty to animals and was subsequently sentenced to six months of house arrest and fined $2,870. PETA had filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding Thompson's illegal activities, including exhibiting animals without a license and declawing tiger cubs in violation of the Animal Welfare Act.
Ohio has no regulations governing the ownership of exotic and dangerous animals. Exotic animals all over the state languish without adequate food, water, and veterinary care. They eat rotten scraps, drink algae-laden water, and spend their days pacing on feces- and urine-encrusted dirt. Just last April, Ohio Gov. John Kasich refused to extend an emergency ban on exotic animals in the state, which was put in place by his predecessor. PETA has campaigned for an outright ban for many years.
Please join PETA in asking the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to exercise its authority to declare emergency regulations to prohibit the keeping of exotic animals and also seize the animals over whom the agency has jurisdiction and see that they are placed in reputable sanctuaries.
Yep, the turkey was just released from a years sentence, his wife left him and it’s a pretty sure thing he let the animals out and then shot himself, a dirtbag to the end.
I actually wondered that myself... he hoped that they would kill innocent people and that was his final “ha ha” on the world. They closed the schools (thank goodness)... wouldn’t want to imagine one of these wild animals on the playground at an elementary school at recess.
I agree. Kasich is wrong on this one.
I wonder how this guy survived opening all those cages long enough to kill himself.
No mention in the article about the PETA sub-humans that were exterminating cats and dogs at a “humane society” org they were running.
I truly think that if he had contacted the police, told them he was going to kill himself but left the animals contained... it would have been a whole lot better. Law enforcement would then have the time to contact whatever group could transport and take care of them. Even if that would have taken some time, volunteers could have brought raw meat etc... to throw over the fence.
I also wonder why the animals didn’t eat him. Would have been a fitting end.
I still say PETA is right on this. And I hate those bastards. But these kind of animals should not be kept as pets.
The bears don’t worry me nearly as much as the tigers and lions. Big cats see children as mice.
I hate to see the animals killed but blame goes to the owner this time.
At the very least there should be some very tough restrictions on owning animals like this.
Yeah, but some cops love killing animals, and these wild ones are more exciting targets than the Labrador retrievers they shoot when they stage a drug raid on the wrong house.
Anyone screwed up enough to let dangerous animals loose on the public before committing suicide doesn't deserve sympathy.
“Lions, tigers, and bears. Oh, my!”
signed, Dorothy.
I think it has more to do with the types of animals involved. Are the cops supposed to carry five or six different types of tranquillizers and try to figure out what they are dealing with.
Easier to just shoot them.
Is anybody else concerned about that? When I hear “assault rifle” I hear .223/5.56. Yeah, I'm sure if you put enough in to a big grizzly or wild cat it will kill them but a) it can make them more mad then dead in the short run, putting the lives of the police in danger. b) unfair for the animals. A .308 can work and get proper penetration, but nobody has a few 300 win mags, 45-70s, or big bore handguns?
Animal Liberation Front let them out? Would they be charged with these deaths?
Re: “Anyone screwed up enough to let dangerous animals loose on the public before committing suicide doesn’t deserve sympathy.”
“Terry Thompson” “suicide” (Yahoo search results):
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22Terry+Thompson%22+suicide&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2-ytff-amo
Cows, horses, dogs, turtles, pet fish, hamsters and hermit crabs probably agree with you. lol.
I think out of all the animals this guy released, the big cats worried me the most. For one thing, they are fast and they can blend in so easily with the environment. I hate seeing them killed as well... but I figure if law enforcement had waited.. and even one person died, the city would have been outraged.
Pretty friggin sick, no?
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