Schools have been closed and residents have been urged to stay home in Zanesville, Ohio Wednesday because there are wild, exotic animals on the loose. After the fence on a private, exotic game preserve was left open Tuesday, most of the 48 animals ... escaped. Neighbors of the park called the cops when they looked out their window and saw lions, tigers, and bears (oh my) wandering down the street, acting as if they owned the place. The Zanesville's Sheriff says the curious animals are "very big, mature, and aggressive" and has sent police armed with assault rifles to survey the area.
Wall Street is the least of our worries now. The animals have occupied Zanesville.
It gets even weirder. When police arrived at the preserve, they found the owner of the property lying dead, surrounded by some of his inquisitive beasts who, by the way, haven't been fed since Monday. As of now, over 30 of the curious animals have been shot and killed by the police who are trying to contain what officials are calling a "bad situation" that's only getting worse.
Besides the lions and bears, there are also cheetahs, giraffes, tigers, wolves, and camels on the loose. Evidently, Ohio has very lenient exotic pet laws (and has the highest incidents of death caused by them), but that might change after this fiasco. There are hungry animals who can eat people roaming the Zanesville streets for crying out loud. The small town 55 miles outside of Columbus has been turned into a wild game park as police in pickup trucks with rifles are riding around looking for the escaped animals.
So far there haven't been any (human) injuries, but the death toll of the animals is obviously very high. The Sheriff's department has been put between a rock and a hard place here -- protect the people or protect the animals -- but they shouldn't have found themselves in this situation to begin with.
These magnificent creatures don't belong in someone's yard in Ohio. It's absurd that a man on a 40-acre plot of land was allowed to keep them as pets. And because he was, the town's people are vulnerable to an animal attack like a backpacker alone in the wilds of South Africa, and the animals are in danger, too. The price of keeping wild and exotic pets is too high for everyone involved.
Do you think people should be allowed to keep lions, bears, cheetahs, giraffes, wolves, chimps, and camels as pets?
Photo via Oli-Olivan/Flickr
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Comments 39
No, I do not and this is incredibly sad for the animals being killed. I guess this is so large scale they feel they have no choice, but couldn't they at least try to dart and remove them (at least some of them?) I can't even imagine the cost of keeping and feeding (properly) that many exotic animals. Shameful.
I do not think people should be allowed to keep so many wild animals as pets, especially when they pose such a risk to society. If someone is able to keep them as pets, they should be required to have as many safety precautions in place as a zoo would.
It all depends on where/how he got the animals. I would much rather see animals on a preserve rather than a Zoo or a Circus or something else along those lines.
Horrible... HORRIBLE... I hate people.
I agree with Lulu... I'd rather see the animals on some kind of preserve or sanctuary rather than at a zoo or circus. I think it's unfortunate that the owner has passed and I also think it's unfortunate that the animals are all being killed. They are probably just hungry and looking for food. They could of tranquilized them and moved them somewhere safer. Shame.
A preserve is a great idea but should be left to the professionals. Not to mention they shouldn't be shooting the animals, they should be tranquilizing them and sending them to zoo's where they can be properly taken care of.
They are wild animals and should remain in the wild....it is sad these animals have to be shot when they could have just been left alone in the wild where they belong. Just cause you can own a wild animal doesnt mean you need to have one.