So this bear walks into a grocery store . . .

[voluptuary_manque]

No, really! It did!

 

[3113]

Awww. He was just a baby.

 

[Handley_Page]

What's this I hear about some Lions & Tigers and so on getting out of "a farm" in Ohio?
Apparently police shot 30-somethng animals. . . . .

 

[voluptuary_manque]

What's this I hear about some Lions & Tigers and so on getting out of "a farm" in Ohio?
Apparently police shot 30-somethng animals. . . . .

Good question. PETA at work?

 

[Handley_Page]

Good question. PETA at work?

Later reports indicated that the animals included a few bears (Black & Brown). It seems that the "owner" of this "rescuer" centre had an argument with his missus, got thoroughly peeved and released the animals, then committed suicide.

 

[3113]

Good question. PETA at work?

Nope. How quick you are to profile!

Heavily armed cops hunted down the few remaining wild animals that terrorized an Ohio town after they were let loose by the suicidal owner of an animal preserve. The only animals believed to still be at large are a wolf and a monkey, Zanesville police said today.

A grizzly bear and a mountain lion had been believed to be running free, but the sheriff's department discovered both were killed last night. Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz told reporters he can't be 100 percent sure that those animals are the only ones unaccounted for among the 51 animals, many of them ferocious, who were let out of their cages Tuesday evening.

Lutz and ABC News' wildlife expert Jack Hanna, who will take the living animals at the preserve to the Columbus Zoo, urged the public to remain cautious. The sheriff said that when his men arrived at the animal preserve in Zanesville, they found grizzly bears, lions, Bengal tigers, black bears and leopards roaming the area. Since it was about to get dark, he feared the animals would escape into the night.

Poor animals!

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Poor animals!

Yes.

It reminds me of a terrible, real life version of Jumanji.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

double post

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Nope. How quick you are to profile!


Poor animals!

Poor animals, indeed. My first thought was PETA because they have done nutsy things like this before, giving animals their 'freedom' from captivity. However this is, if anything, even worse. Releasing animals that are very capable of harming each other and the neighbors and subsequently committing suicide (and thus avoid responsibility) is just terrible. Keeping animals is something that needs a stable, caring person, especially non-domestics. That's why our California DFG is so reluctant to give permits to people who want a 'pet' (fill in the exotic of your choice here). Wuving witto animals isn't enough. Pity someone wasn't looking over this fellow's shoulder regularly. Zoo-keeping is a profession and should be left to professionals. You want a pet? Get a dog or a cat. Forget the ocelot fixation.

Anyway, I hope the grocery cub found its mama.

 

[Sugary_Comfort]

I read this last night, poor little cub, they say it was probably an orphan.

As for those other animals from that farm, that's really sad. I guess necessary once they were let loose, but still sad.

 

[Handley_Page]

Poor animals, indeed. My first thought was PETA because they have done nutsy things like this before, giving animals their 'freedom' from captivity.

Anyway, I hope the grocery cub found its mama.

There are a bunch of nutters over here who have freed animals in captivity. Sadly, this included the Mink (not indigenous to the UK), and it is a killer of capital proportions; it kills for fun, not just food.

And I won't mention the idiots who chuck out an exotic pet (we are reckoned to have Black Widow spiders in the south east).

 

[Stella_Omega]

AH yeah, the menagerie.

http://change-production.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/4/we/uz/EKwEuzHLWAToNCQ-236x236-cropped.jpg?1319070157

Dear Stella,

56 exotic animals ran wild in Ohio yesterday after their owner let them escape from his property before taking his own life. All but a few were shot and killed by police.

Terry Thompson's personal menagerie included tigers, lions, bears, wolves, leopards, and monkeys. And despite numerous previous complaints and visits from police, his operation was totally legal: Ohio has no regulations on the sale and ownership of exotic animals.

Liz Dumler is a Change.org member and student at Ohio University who worked for a ban on exotic animals in Ohio last year. When she heard about this disaster, she knew that Ohio's lack of regulation had threatened public safety and animal welfare for too long. So she started a petition on Change.org asking Ohio Governor John Kasich to immediately issue an executive order banning exotic animals. Click here to add your name to her petition now.

In the last six years, local authorities visited Thompson's farm nearly 30 times in response to complaints about escaped animals, animal cruelty, and more. Police knew the rare animals were at a huge risk, but there was nothing they could do.

After Liz and other animal advocates fought for a ban, then-Governor Strickland outlawed exotic pets in January. But when the new governor, John Kasich, took office, he purposefully let the ban expire, saying it would "hurt small businesses."

Ohio is one of fewer than 10 states that have no regulations about private ownership of exotic animals. After yesterday's disaster, it should be clear to Governor Kasich that Ohio needs to take exotic animals out of unsafe private collections, for the safety of the animals and the public. And when Ohio moves to protect these animals, other states will soon follow.

Please sign Liz's petition asking Ohio Governor Kasich to immediately take action to ban private ownership of exotic animals in his state:

http://www.change.org/petitions/gov...-harboring-of-wild-and-exotic-animals-in-ohio

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- Michael and the Change.org team

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Damned Straight! It's about time Ohio got into the 21st Century. Florida, too.

 

[Tricialen]

The baby bear is adorable...does anyone know what happened to it?

As for the poor animals murdered...yes murdered...they have gone to a better place I hope....what a crime! and you can't get justice because the crazy man killed himself...so sad...

 

[Handley_Page]

AH yeah, the menagerie.

. .asking Ohio Governor Kasich to immediately take action to ban private ownership of exotic animals in his state:

Perhaps a proper licensing scheme would be better ?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

That's what we have here in California. Several species are definitely illegal and if you want others, you have to convince the DFG that you can care for them properly. The wardens have no problem with shutting down a facility, no matter how politico-environmentally correct it is. Heck, they shut down Wildlife Way Station a couple of years back and made them rebuild about half the facility. And that place had an international reputation!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Well, son-of-a-gun! The Ohio gov seems to have suddenly discovered a conscience. Isn't is amazing what a flood of emails will do . . . ?

 

[Handley_Page]

I wish we could get speedy action (about a few matters) like that over here