Exotic animals loose in Muskingum County; animals' owner found dead

Exotic animals loose in Muskingum County; animals' owner found dead

www.dispatch.com

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Dozens of exotic animals – from bears to lions to wolves - were running loose in Muskingum County today, apparently set free from their cages.

Meanwhile, the man who owned the animals was found dead on the wild-animal preserve that he ran, authorities said.

What happened to the dead man, Terry Thompson, and how his animals were all set free went unanswered tonight, as deputies continued to try and round up the animals that continued to roam. The animals that they cornered, they shot, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said.

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First sorry if this has been posted I searched and didn't find it.

This is a crazy story. First why was this guy holding these animals? Second why did the police just feel the need to shoot and kill half of them? I'm not sure what the correct answer is, but I think they should have used tranquilizer darts on them for the most part, why kill them? This is sad, sounds like the owner let them loose and then shot himself. They don't say how he died or what happened in the story but the comment below the story sounds like he killed himself.

www.dispatch.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

No reason to shoot them. They should have been sedated and released. Animals that were "cornered" meaning they werent being hostile. They were hunted and killed.

Lutz said the deputies saw a number of animals standing outside their cages and still on the property, while others had escaped a fence that surrounds Thompson’s property. Deputies, he said, immediately began shooting animals.

Unreal! The article says they killed 25 animals. Some were just "standing outside their cages". What the hell is wrong with these people? Target practice? "immediately began shooting" like this is a natural response? Why wasnt animal control called? These cops just decided to start shooting?!

If who ever freed the animals was trying to save them then they failed big time. They killed the animals as surly as the cops that shoot them. So fool thinking they were doing the animals a big favor and rescuing them just may as well shoot and killed them while still in the cages. That plan sure did backfire big time. And as to why the cops shoot and killed them well we all know how cops like to shot and kill things and I guess they could not pass up this chance to have a little fun and target practice.

The cops are starting to worry me more than the criminals are. In fact they are becoming more of a danger to the public than the criminal they are after.

Lutz said that four deputies with assault rifles in a pickup truck immediately went to 270 Kopchak Rd., where a 46-acre “wild-animal rescue farm” owned by Thompson borders I-70.

There, Lutz said, they found Thompson dead outside of his house and “every single animal cage door open.”

Lutz said the deputies saw a number of animals standing outside their cages and still on the property, while others had escaped a fence that surrounds Thompson’s property. Deputies, he said, immediately began shooting animals.

Sounds like a bunch of hick deputies getting off on their wild safari hunting fantasies.

They started shooting at the animals even before trying to get them back in the cages. They probably weren't even threatened by the animals and had made the decision to kill everything before they even got there. I hope they get charged for killing animals on the endangered species list.

One thing I wonder about is why weren't the animals inside the house let loose to? Makes me wonder if some animal rights activists got caught setting the animals free and killed him.

reply to post by WhoDat09


Tranquilizing a large animal takes more than most local police departments can muster. There is also the problem of public safety with tigers and other predators wandering through Ohio in the dark. I understand that an Ohio zoo is trying to capture and save some of the animals but the locals aren't too likely to wait a few days for the zoo if there is a lion loose in the sheep herd.

Yes, IA with you guys sounds like a bunch of cops getting their kicks out of shooting animals. Some of the animals are endangered, and I don't think there was a pressing reason for shooting them. They had not harmed or attacked anyone at that point there was no need to shoot them to kill them. I would understand if they shot to kill if one of them was about to attack someone, but they weren't. They just shot them

It sounds like now someone has taken the lead or at least the initiative of tranquilizing them instead of shooting to kill.

I am not sure what happened here, if it was an activist they failed miserably. If it was the guy himself, well he failed miserably also, it is just so sad.

That's just horrible. Animals can not defend themselves with guns.And from the sounds of it, they posed no danger standing next to their cages. Just sad. Poor little fellows. Least they could of done was find them an environment of their species. Didn't have to kill them.

Originally posted by Manhater
That's just horrible. Animals can not defend themselves with guns.And from the sounds of it, they posed no danger standing next to their cages. Just sad. Poor little fellows. Least they could of done was find them an environment of their species. Didn't have to kill them.

Bears or wolves? Sure. Cats however, especially lions and tigers held in captivity for that long, would never make it back in the wild. Cats tend to kill each other. A good place for those cats wouldve been a zoo. The wolves and bears couldve been released back into the wild though. Wolves are pack animals like cats but tend to form into much larger groups. The alpha wolf doesnt just kill any opposition like a male lion will unless provoked. An example of this would be to put 2 male dog together. Mostly they will just sniff each other and might fight if you got 2 alphas. 2 male cats put together and 99% of the time theres going to be a fight. Doesnt matter. Of course this is for animals that dont know each other. Bears are kind of "eh ill go do this today" kind of creatures.

Things like this re-enforce my opinion that wild pigs are dangerous beasts, and it would be safer to shoot them on sight, too.



Humans hunt, trap and encage wild animals and if the get loose, no worries bloke, they're disposable anyway.

This really seems to be getting out of hand. We have Zoos for viewing and learning about animals whose every instinct and natural inclination is to kill us and eat us. Having every Tom, Dick and Harry with a self declared interest and some training (or not) in handling and care for Apex predators is a terrible idea and this is why.

I'd seen a trucker once with a tiger cub...there just have to be limits to this kind of thing and very well controlled, regulated and secure places with professional STAFF...not owners...to handle them.



Keep to the zoos is what I say.

Make you a bet it was some PETA nut..

Or someone that just wanted to create some havok

reply to post by popsmayhem


Yes, from what I understand PETA people are crazy!! If it was some PETA nut I'm sure they feel pretty stupid right now, instead of the freedom they wanted for the animals they were met with a bullet from a trigger happy cop.

None of those animals ever had a choice to be free and I think it would be a bad idea to set any of them free, but they could live happy in a zoo for the rest of their lives.

Are you seriously saying that someone can legally ''own'' a cheetah, lion, tiger or grizzly in the US ?

What is wrong with some of you people ?!

Originally posted by e11888
These cops just decided to start shooting?!

Its what they do best

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


I don't think anyone here is saying that it is OK or legal to own any of these animals, I think the people (government) of Ohio said that he could legally keep these animals. I don't believe any human has the right to own wild animals, but that's just me.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
We have Zoos for viewing and learning about animals whose every instinct and natural inclination is to kill us and eat us.

Since when have chimpanzees, giraffes and hippopotamuses had a ''natural inclination to kill us'' ? :shk:

What I think may have happened is he was shot by someone to release the animals. So murdered by someone to free the animals, many of whom now are dead. And most police are not out and out thugs, and still would have to follow public safety. It would have taken some time to get proper tranqillizers and teams to take these animals out the right way, with darts, and Im sure now that there is time that is being done. But they would have been thrown to the wolves if they had not put animals down that could have killed someones child coming home from school, if they hadn't acted quickly. They didn't do anything wrong, that was the right call without the back up needed at the time.

Originally posted by WhoDat09
reply to post by Sherlock Holmes

 

I don't think anyone here is saying that it is OK or legal to own any of these animals, I think the people (government) of Ohio said that he could legally keep these animals. I don't believe any human has the right to own wild animals, but that's just me.

Well we all know what happen to the lady who owned a chimp..

I always wanted a monkey until hearing about that..

I remember the buddy movies and well, buddy is a movie.

Originally posted by pteridine
reply to post by WhoDat09

 

Tranquilizing a large animal takes more than most local police departments can muster. There is also the problem of public safety with tigers and other predators wandering through Ohio in the dark. I understand that an Ohio zoo is trying to capture and save some of the animals but the locals aren't too likely to wait a few days for the zoo if there is a lion loose in the sheep herd.

They taze humans all the time..... if a police officer can gaze an 83 year old woman to secure her, why can't multiple police officers taze a lion?

You really think it would take DAYS for a police dept to get zoo employees TRAINED to capture and calm animals? The Ohio Zoo's should have worked WITH the police department, and that wouldn't take days at all. Please don't try to justify something that simply falls under the trend of stupid police officers having no knowledge of handling any situation correctly.

A police officer just killed a man 2 blocks from my house on the 15th who was reported to be unarmed by over 15 witnesses. He shot him in the BACK TWICE. Since you can justify the slaughter of innocent animals who were "roaming" -not rampaging or attacking- but ROAMING, please justify a police officer shooting a 19 year old in the back..