Police kills 49 animals released from a private zoo

[RMorgan]

That´s so sad...

"For more than twelve tense hours, heavily armed police officers near Zanesville, Ohio scoured the region for big cats, bears, and other exotic animals set loose from a local wildlife farm -- ultimately killing nearly 50 of the 56 escapees. Among the dead animals are 18 endangered Bengal tigers, 17 lions, two grizzly bears, six black bears, a baboon, and seven bobcats. Although the public was cautioned to remain indoors during the hunt, there was a human toll as well: the owner of the wildlife farm, who evidently unleashed the exotic animals on the community before committing suicide."

Source:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/10/48-animals-killed-after-suicidal-owner-released-them.php

Those guys never heard of dart guns?

[Fred Steeves]

Those guys never hard of dart guns?

That's what I kept wondering yesterday while this was ongoing news. The more we are immersed into a zero tolerence society, the more zero tolerence is invoked "for our safety".

[RMorgan]

I bet those cops are also hunters and actually enjoyed making their free safari shooting without spending a cent.

[meeradas]

just 2 of the threads on topic:
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?32897
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?32878

[Peace of Mind]

Sometime I wish I was another species from another planet, (maybe I am) because I just can’t see the justification in this. This has truly hurt my soul. The arrogance of humans has gotten totally out of hand. Why do we decide who and what lives on this planet, who and what lives where, who and what deserves this or that? Why do we think like this?

We act like demons instead of Gods. We know this is wrong yet it will eventually get swept under the rug, and little (if anything) will be done about it. Those animals didn’t ask to be caged, and when they finally were set free they were murdered. What gives us more right to live wherever we want and not them? We have zoos, aquariums, and the circus…all with imprisoned animals for our egotistical pleasures. We are the ones destroying the planet and most of us know this and still do nothing about it. Yet, we expect to ascend and have other entities to come here and assist us in wiping our butts? What if they wanted to do to us exactly what we do to all the other animals here...would they be wrong in doing so?

If I was an alien looking on I would stay illusive too. I mean, why deal with a confused, hate filled, self centered species? All we do is fight. We fight over trivial nonsense all the time, face 2 face over the phones and internet. We are in deep trouble and most of us don’t even know it, and half of those that do know aren’t even taken it serious. If we don’t straighten up fast we deserve to go extinct, and that's real talk. In all our intellect we have manage to do more damage than good to this world. Do you think we deserve to live or even venture to other worlds? I wouldn’t be surprised if we were quarantine to this rock until we started stepping up on our godly initiatives. Maybe we are bound here to learn how to exist out there… I can’t honestly say that I’m against that either…not when I observe what we do and don’t do. We are too self serving and frighten to do what’s right for the whole. We flounder because we hesitate in trusting each other; we are the problems and the cause to everything undesirable. Sometimes being inactive/overlooking the problem is worse than doing that sinful deed.

I can’t imagine humans in higher benevolent realms when they stand by and let only a handful of evil cowards do what they want. Guns were invented by and for cowards and in all it's irony has become the symbol of power....without it, the world would have been a beautiful place filled with brave hearts. Instead, it's a delusional world filled with spite. I've witness all kinds of neccessary test/opportunities every day, and I’ve watch too many of them be wasted away. We don’t deserve to expand into the universe… we are just not ready. There are just too many blown opportunities to prove ourselves, too many afraid to be the Gods they are.
If we are to be…then we must be now! There’s nothing holding us back but us.

Peace

[keramikus]

The hell with this world , the so called humanity can kill whatever it wants to preserve itsellf.

[eric charles]

Sometime I wish I was another species from another planet, (maybe I am) because I just can’t see the justification in this. This has truly hurt my soul. The arrogance of humans has gotten totally out of hand. Why do we decide who and what lives on this planet, who and what lives where, who and what deserves this or that? Why do we think like this?

We act like demons instead of Gods. We know this is wrong yet it will eventually get swept under the rug, and little (if anything) will be done about it. Those animals didn’t ask to be caged, and when they finally were set free they were murdered. What gives us more right to live wherever we want and not them? We have zoos, aquariums, and the circus…all with imprisoned animals for our egotistical pleasures. We are the ones destroying the planet and most of us know this and still do nothing about it. Yet, we expect to ascend and have other entities to come here and assist us in wiping our butts? What if they wanted to do to us exactly what we do to all the other animals here...would they be wrong in doing so?

If I was an alien looking on I would stay illusive too. I mean, why deal with a confused, hate filled, self centered species? All we do is fight. We fight over trivial nonsense all the time, face 2 face over the phones and internet. We are in deep trouble and most of us don’t even know it, and half of those that do know aren’t even taken it serious. If we don’t straighten up fast we deserve to go extinct, and that's real talk. In all our intellect we have manage to do more damage than good to this world. Do you think we deserve to live or even venture to other worlds? I wouldn’t be surprised if we were quarantine to this rock until we started stepping up on our godly initiatives. Maybe we are bound here to learn how to exist out there… I can’t honestly say that I’m against that either…not when I observe what we do and don’t do. We are too self serving and frighten to do what’s right for the whole. We flounder because we hesitate in trusting each other; we are the problems and the cause to everything undesirable. Sometimes being inactive/overlooking the problem is worse than doing that sinful deed.

I can’t imagine humans in higher benevolent realms when they stand by and let only a handful of evil cowards do what they want. Guns were invented by and for cowards and in all it's irony has become the symbol of power....without it, the world would have been a beautiful place filled with brave hearts. Instead, it's a delusional world filled with spite. I've witness all kinds of neccessary test/opportunities every day, and I’ve watch too many of them be wasted away. We don’t deserve to expand into the universe… we are just not ready. There are just too many blown opportunities to prove ourselves, too many afraid to be the Gods they are.
If we are to be…then we must be now! There’s nothing holding us back but us.

Peace

Wo wo wo , so im a coward becasue i have guns and inhumaine becasue i love to hunt . Where the f*** do you think your steaks , chicken , fish come from ??? All deadened by someone dont you think ?

[NeoEmc2]

Wo wo wo , so im a coward becasue i have guns and inhumaine becasue i love to hunt . Where the f*** do you think your steaks , chicken , fish come from ??? All deadened by someone dont you think ?

I think you took Peace of Mind's reply personal and I also think that you missed the point.

Shooting innocent animals - regardless that they are dangerous - instead of tranquilizing them =/= hunting.

IMO Hunting has become something other than what it used to. The way I see it, hunting now days has become more of a sport than a way of survival. If you hunt to survive because you cannot otherwise feed yourself then good for you. If so, I would hope you at least thanked the animal for providing you food.

Just my .02

peace

[mosquito]

Wo wo wo , so im a coward becasue i have guns and inhumaine becasue i love to hunt . Where the f*** do you think your steaks , chicken , fish come from ??? All deadened by someone dont you think ?

If you go back and read the first post, you'll see the answer ....

Steaks, chicken, fish DO NOT come from Bengal tigers, lions, bears, bobcats ot baboons.

Hunting for food and killing wild animals out of pure malice aren't the same think.

[Floyd]

This kind of info makes me rojectile vomit (aologies for vularity)

[eric charles]

I know what she meant and i agree that killing for fun and hunting are two different things , what she said that hit me personly was that ONLY cowards have guns !!

[Eagle]

Truely senseless and wrong in my opinion.

[Star1111]

I know what she meant and i agree that killing for fun and hunting are two different things , what she said that hit me personly was that ONLY cowards have guns !!

No need to be quite so agressive in your responses eric charles. Try to think before you type perhaps.....................?
Peace of Mind is entitled to her opinion.

[eric charles]

Think of it this way folks , if we here in north america wouldnt be allowed guns , we would totally be enslaved (we already are but......) it guarantees our freedoms , unlike folks in Britain and Europe who are totally under the governments thumb , take away our guns and we are F****ked for real !

Im not trying to irritate people but come on now , im entitled to my opinion also

[Peace of Mind]

Sometime I wish I was another species from another planet, (maybe I am) because I just can’t see the justification in this. This has truly hurt my soul. The arrogance of humans has gotten totally out of hand. Why do we decide who and what lives on this planet, who and what lives where, who and what deserves this or that? Why do we think like this?

We act like demons instead of Gods. We know this is wrong yet it will eventually get swept under the rug, and little (if anything) will be done about it. Those animals didn’t ask to be caged, and when they finally were set free they were murdered. What gives us more right to live wherever we want and not them? We have zoos, aquariums, and the circus…all with imprisoned animals for our egotistical pleasures. We are the ones destroying the planet and most of us know this and still do nothing about it. Yet, we expect to ascend and have other entities to come here and assist us in wiping our butts? What if they wanted to do to us exactly what we do to all the other animals here...would they be wrong in doing so?

If I was an alien looking on I would stay illusive too. I mean, why deal with a confused, hate filled, self centered species? All we do is fight. We fight over trivial nonsense all the time, face 2 face over the phones and internet. We are in deep trouble and most of us don’t even know it, and half of those that do know aren’t even taken it serious. If we don’t straighten up fast we deserve to go extinct, and that's real talk. In all our intellect we have manage to do more damage than good to this world. Do you think we deserve to live or even venture to other worlds? I wouldn’t be surprised if we were quarantine to this rock until we started stepping up on our godly initiatives. Maybe we are bound here to learn how to exist out there… I can’t honestly say that I’m against that either…not when I observe what we do and don’t do. We are too self serving and frighten to do what’s right for the whole. We flounder because we hesitate in trusting each other; we are the problems and the cause to everything undesirable. Sometimes being inactive/overlooking the problem is worse than doing that sinful deed.

I can’t imagine humans in higher benevolent realms when they stand by and let only a handful of evil cowards do what they want. Guns were invented by and for cowards and in all it's irony has become the symbol of power....without it, the world would have been a beautiful place filled with brave hearts. Instead, it's a delusional world filled with spite. I've witness all kinds of neccessary test/opportunities every day, and I’ve watch too many of them be wasted away. We don’t deserve to expand into the universe… we are just not ready. There are just too many blown opportunities to prove ourselves, too many afraid to be the Gods they are.
If we are to be…then we must be now! There’s nothing holding us back but us.

Peace

Wo wo wo , so im a coward becasue i have guns and inhumaine becasue i love to hunt . Where the f*** do you think your steaks , chicken , fish come from ??? All deadened by someone dont you think ?

I haven’t eaten meat in over a decade. I haven’t killed anything (bugs, rodents, whatever) in over a decade. In my observation, consuming death regenerates that negative energy into you own being. I eat mainly fruits and grains or I’ll hardly eat at all. Most meat eaters have no regard or respect for the life of others beings and that negative energy makes them into very aggressive beings. It’s not hard at all for me to see this…but for others, that may require a bit of courage to look through the delusions.

Peace

[Mutchie]

i honestly cannot believe they shot and killed all them animals who was in charge ? you would think there would be procedures ie dart guns etc

[Peace of Mind]

Think of it this way folks , if we here in north america wouldnt be allowed guns , we would totally be enslaved (we already are but......) it guarantees our freedoms , unlike folks in Britain and Europe who are totally under the governments thumb , take away our guns and we are F****ked for real !

Im not trying to irritate people but come on now , im entitled to my opinion also

IMO, guns are and will always be used by cowards...especially snipers. When you have an issue with someone or thing and choose to hide in a bush a mile away to kill it with high power rifles and scopes...well, the definition couldn't be more defined.

Peace

[RMorgan]

i honestly cannot believe they shot and killed all them animals who was in charge ? you would think there would be procedures ie dart guns etc

That´s what I think as well. There are so many Zoos that would love to give shelter to those poor animals.

[Amysenthia]

I feel sick about this just like the rest of you. I just want to add as someone who lives in Ohio not far from where this happened. This has been the talk of all our news programs this past week. They have done interviews with the responding officers and they are just as upset about what they felt they had to do to protect their community as all of you are. You have to realize this farm sat on the top of a rural, wooded area. When the officers arrived the animals were in the process of escaping the cattle fencing. This complex has neighborhoods, schools, highways, nearby. Rural police do not carry tranquilizer guns with them, and there was no time to call and get some delivered. They had to stop the animals before they hit the woods. Would any of you who are condemning these officers have liked to see some child attacked on the way home from school because the officers didn't stop them before they escaped. The blame here should fall strictly with the crazed owner who did this to his animals. The animals that were not released were sent to the Columbus zoo and are safe.

I totally understand the visceral reaction to this story because I felt it too. However when you hear the facts and watch the interviews with the responding officers that had to do what they did nearly in tears, there was no joy in this. Although I am not one for more laws, this case definitely calls for more regulations for owning such animals. In Ohio you don't even have to have a special license to own any type of exotic pet. For the welfare of the animals this needs to change.

[ajyana]

sad to know this, may those poor animals rest in peace....

[RMorgan]

I feel sick about this just like the rest of you. I just want to add as someone who lives in Ohio not far from where this happened. This has been the talk of all our news programs this past week. They have done interviews with the responding officers and they are just as upset about what they felt they had to do to protect their community as all of you are. You have to realize this farm sat on the top of a rural, wooded area. When the officers arrived the animals were in the process of escaping the cattle fencing. This complex has neighborhoods, schools, highways, nearby. Rural police do not carry tranquilizer guns with them, and there was no time to call and get some delivered. They had to stop the animals before they hit the woods. Would any of you who are condemning these officers have liked to see some child attacked on the way home from school because the officers didn't stop them before they escaped. The blame here should fall strictly with the crazed owner who did this to his animals. The animals that were not released were sent to the Columbus zoo and are safe.

I totally understand the visceral reaction to this story because I felt it too. However when you hear the facts and watch the interviews with the responding officers that had to do what they did nearly in tears, there was no joy in this. Although I am not one for more laws, this case definitely calls for more regulations for owning such animals. In Ohio you don't even have to have a special license to own any type of exotic pet. For the welfare of the animals this needs to change.

Rural police don´t carry darts? Aren´t they responsible from dealing with any problems regarding the local fauna as well?

However, I can understand the cop´s point of view. They were simply not prepared for this situation, both physically and mentally.

First of all, it was all wrong from the beginning. Anyone should not have the right to hold a private zoo with such dangerous animals, specially without a rigid authorities supervision.

Second, the authorities, knowing of this zoo, should be prepared for any emergencies regarding these matters.

[Lazlo]

Rural police don´t carry darts? Aren´t they responsible from dealing with any problems regarding the local fauna as well?

No, the rural police don't carry darts. That would be the Fish and Wildlife Service or the Department of Natural Resources. There are one or two officers/rangers who are specially trained and who carry dart guns. They are set up to handle a single animal at a time.

I grew up just a few miles from where this occurred, and knowing the geography of the area, I can appreciate the enormity of the situation that the officers faced.

Since leaving Ohio I have lived in grizzly, wolf, and mountain lion country. I personally know of several tragic encounters between people and wildlife, including an instance in which an 8 year old boy was snatched off of a school playground by a mountain lion while the onlookers stood helplessly by. Everyone in town personally knew at least one family who woke up with a bear rampaging in their homes. Twice I have had to deal with rattlesnakes in the house that were longer than 5 feet. I can't count the number of people killed by deer/moose - automobile accidents.

Yes it was a tragic incident.

However, no wild animal is worth a single human life. There. I said it, now all of you humanity bashers can have at me.

I am a gun owner and I don't hunt for sport. But you can be damn sure that I wouldn't hesitate for an instant in downing an animal that was a threat to my family. The officers were doing their jobs. Save the hate for the dumb*** who was running his own private zoo and thought that it was OK to commit suicide before securing to the animals.

Edit to add: Looks like you added to your post while I was replying RMorgan.

[Strat]

I'm not sure anyone is at fault here. Sometimes circumstances work this way and we just have to move on.

God bless your level-headedness Lazlo. I posted a very similar response a while back regarding how here in FL, pests must be removed from humans. It may seem wrong to some people, but you can't have alligators and Cotton Mouth snakes roaming around. Animal Control does their best to handle these issues, and people still die. If they weren't there it'd be worse.

I don't mean just rural areas either: The TPC Sawgrass area (popular golf course) has gators all through out it. I would ride my bike there with my buddy growing up.

[Peace of Mind]

The animals have every right to live where they want…just like humans. We should be willing to accommodate them in every way possible because it is us that have been acting like savages by killing and evicting animals from their natural inhabitant…for our own selfish reasons. Most animals are aggressively wild because of humans. For instance: Monkeys in some parts of the world were herbivores and turn to meat eaters (and cannibals) due to poor living conditions created by the careless expansion of humans. I think many of the meat eating animals are products of evolution brought on by grand catastrophes and human negligence. In my life time alone I've witness how the elephants of Africa evolved by growing shorter tusks...due to poaching. In our short time on this rock we have manage to destroy much of the Earth’s vegetation (trees/flowers/fertile land). I can only imagine what life was like thousands of years ago…before we developed these selfish ways to sustain ourselves by destroying something else.

I can sit in my backyard and the stray cats, squirrels, birds and raccoons will come around to hang out. They sit around looking at me; sometimes they brush up against my leg or relax a few feet from me. I’ve fed squirrels and the birds. I recognize them when they leave and come back. The raccoons basically come around at night and they mainly sit/lay on the fence staring …waiting for me to throw them an apple or something. I communicate with them and their actions let me know that they understand me. There’s so much joy and beautiful energy when we’re mingling with each outer. But, It’s a different world when I leave my house thou… all the animals within society are scared and will scatter as soon as a human is near…this truly saddens me and I’m sure this sought of behavior is not normal. As humans, I fill we are also here to care for this world. I know we are responsible and intelligent enough to tame animals and live/walk amongst them just like we do with other humans. They (animals) shouldn’t have to run away in fear for their lives…this just doesn’t seem right, even though it’s a normal thing to see. But, this is something we made normal, so most people think this is the way it’s supposed to be.

Let’s just say an advance alien race came here to visit our planet and wanted to speak to its representatives…do you think Humans deserve to be those representatives. I’m sure aliens can look at the results of how other creatures here live and see that they have life down pact…but do humans? Animals take and give back to the planet, do humans really practice this? We, for some reason has developed a parasitic mentality and a destructive way of living at the cost of other creatures (even fellow humans). Humanity has its potential, but I don’t know if I’ll still be around to see them live up to it.

Peace

[Lazlo]

Let’s just say an advance alien race came here to visit our planet and wanted to speak to its representatives…do you think Humans deserve to be those representatives. I’m sure aliens can look at the results of how other creatures here live and see that they have life down pact…but do humans? Animals take and give back to the planet, do humans really practice this? We, for some reason has developed a parasitic mentality and a destructive way of living at the cost of other creatures (even fellow humans). Humanity has its potential, but I don’t know if I’ll still be around to see them live up to it.

Peace

I would argue that it is a romantic fallacy that animals exist in perfect balance and harmony. A male cat will kill newborn kits to protect his own line (this includes lions and and such) When food is plentiful, rats will overbreed and eat all available foods, which leads to mass starvation in both the rats and other species.

Animals don't exist in harmony with nature. They breed and produce right up to the carrying limit of the environment and then suffer a dieoff. The population stabilizes for a time and then the cycle repeats. It's tooth and claw, not lions laying down with lambs. People do the same thing, we have simply been clever enough monkeys not to crash ourselves, YET.

The classic example is in rabbit and fox populations. Rabbits breed like, well, rabbits. The population soars and pretty soon the foxes start having more litters and more pups survive because there is so much food. Given a year or two, the foxes are so numerous and eat so many rabbits that the bunnies can't breed fast enough to maintain the population. The rabbit population crashes and the foxes start starving.

Pretty soon there are so few foxes that the rabbit population begins to expand...and the cycle repeats. There is no theoretical perfect harmony in nature, just constantly changing circumstances driving evolution.

Human effects on the environment seem so heinous because we have technology and our cycles are much longer. All of modern society is but a blip on the geologic time scale. We will either crash our population or we will figure out how to break the cycle.

A single human could be a perfectly good representative for our planet. But humanity as a whole? No way.

[Ba-ba-Ra]

Really! What kind of life did these animals have. Imagine being in a cage for your entire life. I for one would rather be dead.

Even zoos that have larger spaces for these animals to roam. They are still trapped - and can't do what they were born to do. While I dislike the thought of anything being killed, I have to ask myself: "Why aren't we crying out for the humans that are being killed daily in wars?"

[Mutchie]

i watched a documentary the other day where this guy set out to prove animals are emotional creatures who can expierience fear or happyness or sadness etc it was set around farm animals and it was so interesting i mean this woman who was saving animals had documented videos showing how the animals were to begin with around her obviously they all had a story but it all centered around trust and time ........once they got to know her and trust her the changes seemed to be extraordinary i wish i could give a link it seems so wrong when you see cows being SHOT IN THE HEAD then they get their throats cut etc we kill kill kill:frusty:

[Peace of Mind]

Let’s just say an advance alien race came here to visit our planet and wanted to speak to its representatives…do you think Humans deserve to be those representatives. I’m sure aliens can look at the results of how other creatures here live and see that they have life down pact…but do humans? Animals take and give back to the planet, do humans really practice this? We, for some reason has developed a parasitic mentality and a destructive way of living at the cost of other creatures (even fellow humans). Humanity has its potential, but I don’t know if I’ll still be around to see them live up to it.

Peace

I would argue that it is a romantic fallacy that animals exist in perfect balance and harmony. A male cat will kill newborn kits to protect his own line (this includes lions and and such) When food is plentiful, rats will overbreed and eat all available foods, which leads to mass starvation in both the rats and other species.

Animals don't exist in harmony with nature. They breed and produce right up to the carrying limit of the environment and then suffer a dieoff. The population stabilizes for a time and then the cycle repeats. It's tooth and claw, not lions laying down with lambs. People do the same thing, we have simply been clever enough monkeys not to crash ourselves, YET.

The classic example is in rabbit and fox populations. Rabbits breed like, well, rabbits. The population soars and pretty soon the foxes start having more litters and more pups survive because there is so much food. Given a year or two, the foxes are so numerous and eat so many rabbits that the bunnies can't breed fast enough to maintain the population. The rabbit population crashes and the foxes start starving.

Pretty soon there are so few foxes that the rabbit population begins to expand...and the cycle repeats. There is no theoretical perfect harmony in nature, just constantly changing circumstances driving evolution.

Human effects on the environment seem so heinous because we have technology and our cycles are much longer. All of modern society is but a blip on the geologic time scale. We will either crash our population or we will figure out how to break the cycle.

A single human could be a perfectly good representative for our planet. But humanity as a whole? No way.

What we see in today’s animal kingdom is what we created for them. Animals have been taken out of their natural environments, they live and maintain on the little bit of land we/humans left for them. Even the deep seas seem to be barren and lost much of its vegetation. I can only imagine how much crap we dumped in the seas, and how much under water testing of dangerous hazardous substances is actually going on.

A male cat (or any specie) has killed off the young as a last option; I’ve also seen male cats care for other cats offspring. If your species was quarantine (to a degree) then food will most likely be scarce. Cats are very independent and great travelers. When they can’t travel due to human restrictions…what is left for them to do? It’s very unfortunate and I’m sure if giving enough space they will rather move on to greener pastures before killing off the competition for food. If you put any group of living beings in a confined environment they will most likely turn on each other.

Animals aid in fertilizing the land, for example, I’ve seen plenty of animals defecate around trees and neatly cover it up...while we use toilets to recycle some of the waste and dump the rest in the ocean.

Evolution is survival, what triggers these evolutions is what we should be concerned with the most. Humans have a very profound effect on everything on this world. So, if one human is to characterize humanity…that single human has to have every creature on this planet in mind if he/she is to represent us all.

Peace

[Lazlo]

A male cat (or any specie) has killed off the young as a last option; I’ve also seen male cats care for other cats offspring. If your species was quarantine (to a degree) then food will most likely be scarce. Cats are very independent and great travelers. When they can’t travel due to human restrictions…what is left for them to do? It’s very unfortunate and I’m sure if giving enough space they will rather move on to greener pastures before killing off the competition for food. If you put any group of living beings in a confined environment they will most likely turn on each other.

Peace

All good points, but I still disagree with you about the cats.

Even in conditions in which there are no food or crowding issues, a male feline will kill kits from other males in order to bring the female back into estrus and then mate with her. Additionally, felines aren't the only species to exhibit this behavior.

[mosquito]

I feel sick about this just like the rest of you. I just want to add as someone who lives in Ohio not far from where this happened. This has been the talk of all our news programs this past week. They have done interviews with the responding officers and they are just as upset about what they felt they had to do to protect their community as all of you are. You have to realize this farm sat on the top of a rural, wooded area. When the officers arrived the animals were in the process of escaping the cattle fencing. This complex has neighborhoods, schools, highways, nearby. Rural police do not carry tranquilizer guns with them, and there was no time to call and get some delivered. They had to stop the animals before they hit the woods. Would any of you who are condemning these officers have liked to see some child attacked on the way home from school because the officers didn't stop them before they escaped. The blame here should fall strictly with the crazed owner who did this to his animals. The animals that were not released were sent to the Columbus zoo and are safe.

I totally understand the visceral reaction to this story because I felt it too. However when you hear the facts and watch the interviews with the responding officers that had to do what they did nearly in tears, there was no joy in this. Although I am not one for more laws, this case definitely calls for more regulations for owning such animals. In Ohio you don't even have to have a special license to own any type of exotic pet. For the welfare of the animals this needs to change.

Thanks for bringing this to or attention

[eric charles]

Rural police don´t carry darts? Aren´t they responsible from dealing with any problems regarding the local fauna as well?

No, the rural police don't carry darts. That would be the Fish and Wildlife Service or the Department of Natural Resources. There are one or two officers/rangers who are specially trained and who carry dart guns. They are set up to handle a single animal at a time.

I grew up just a few miles from where this occurred, and knowing the geography of the area, I can appreciate the enormity of the situation that the officers faced.

Since leaving Ohio I have lived in grizzly, wolf, and mountain lion country. I personally know of several tragic encounters between people and wildlife, including an instance in which an 8 year old boy was snatched off of a school playground by a mountain lion while the onlookers stood helplessly by. Everyone in town personally knew at least one family who woke up with a bear rampaging in their homes. Twice I have had to deal with rattlesnakes in the house that were longer than 5 feet. I can't count the number of people killed by deer/moose - automobile accidents.

Yes it was a tragic incident.

However, no wild animal is worth a single human life. There. I said it, now all of you humanity bashers can have at me.

I am a gun owner and I don't hunt for sport. But you can be damn sure that I wouldn't hesitate for an instant in downing an animal that was a threat to my family. The officers were doing their jobs. Save the hate for the dumb*** who was running his own private zoo and thought that it was OK to commit suicide before securing to the animals.

Edit to add: Looks like you added to your post while I was replying RMorgan.


Very well said Lazlos