Ohio escaped animals

[Merci Alizée]

After the shooting stopped and panic subsided, 50 exotic animals were dead.

The owner of the farm that housed the creatures also apparently shot himself to death after unleashing 56 wild animals on Zanesville, a city of 25,000 in central Ohio, perhaps in a final act of spite against neighbors and police.

All but one of the dead animals were shot to death. They included 18 rare Bengal tigers, 17 lions, six black bears, two grizzlies, three mountain lions, two wolves and one baboon. At least one animal, described by officials as a large cat, was struck by a car and then shot. The last of the escapees, a monkey believed to carry a potentially lethal herpes virus, apparently was eaten by one of the carnivores, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said late Wednesday.

Six survivors — three leopards, a grizzly and two monkeys — were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo.

Hanna defended Lutz's decision to kill the animals, but said the deaths of the Bengal tigers were especially tragic. Only about 1,400 of the endangered cats remain in the world, he said.

What a freak that guy was! Animals had to pay price for his stupidity.

Conservationists have demanded action over non-existent US wildlife ownership laws after the slaughter of 49 animals, including 18 rare Bengal tigers, set free from a private Ohio farm.

"Quite frankly, nobody should have these animals in the first place so we need to take steps to change laws to make that a reality," Adam Roberts, executive vice president of Born Free USA, said.

"These animals belong in accredited facilities with people who can handle them appropriately."

Bears, lions, tigers, wolves and monkeys ran amok when owner Terry Thompson, 62, flung open the enclosures at his Muskingum County Animal Farm near the town of Zanesville on Tuesday evening (local time) and then killed himself.

Police officers following shoot-to-kill orders, some of them armed only with handguns, had no choice but to exterminate the animals to protect the local populace, and in some cases themselves, as darkness fell.

By the end of Wednesday (local time), by which time experts with tranquiliser guns had been deployed, 49 animals were dead.

Only six were saved. One animal, a monkey, was still thought to be on the loose, if it hadn't been eaten by a lion.

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[Taxi Driver Aaron]

sad.... I love cats too.... I want a baby lion or tiger.

[UniCom]

Yeah, I heard about this when it came up on the news. That moronic fool. If there's anything worse than a ne'er do well, it's an idiot like this freakin douchebag who would kill himself and allow the animals to die for his mistakes.