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Workers transport an animal from the Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio on Friday as Marian Thompson, center, touches the cage.
An Ohio zoo on Friday returned five surviving exotic animals to a woman whose husband released dozens of wild creatures last fall before he committed suicide.
Two leopards, two primates and a bear have been held at the Columbus zoo since October. State officials had ordered that the animals be quarantined on suspicion of infectious diseases.
Marian Thompson of Zanesville had been appealing the order, and on Monday it was lifted by Ohio's agriculture director.
Thompson, distinctive in a bright pink shirt and black pants, arrived at a loading area at the zoo around 10:30, driving a pickup truck pulling a silver horse trailer.
Two animals were loaded by hand into the horse trailer in wooden crates, and roaring from the leopards could be heard coming from the crates. A forklift loaded a steel cage, likely carrying the bear. Thompson put her hand on the cage and appeared to be talking to the animal inside as it was put into the trailer.
The monkeys were transported in dog carriers and loaded inside the cab of the truck, with the windows rolled down. Thompson ignored shouted questions from nearby reporters.
Several zoo staffers, including veterinarians and keepers, watched the transfer, with some taking video and still photos. Two United States Agriculture Department inspectors were also on hand with cameras.
Medical results released last week showed all five animals are free of the dangerously contagious or infectious diseases for which they were tested.
Thompson had previously tried to get the animals back from the zoo, but the quarantine prevented her from taking them.
Once the animals are returned to Thompson, nothing in Ohio law allows state officials to check on their welfare or require improvements to conditions in which they are kept. The state's agriculture department says it will be up to local authorities to be alert to their caretaking.
Thompson is the widow of Terry Thompson, who released 56 animals — including black bears, mountain lions and Bengal tigers — from his eastern Ohio farm Oct. 18 before he committed suicide. Fearing for the public's safety, authorities killed 48 of the animals.
Three leopards, two Celebes macaques and a bear survived and were taken to the Columbus zoo. One spotted leopard had to be euthanized at the zoo in January. The macaques are small primates; the female weighs about 6 pounds, and the male weighs more than 10 pounds.
The zoo said it raised $44,000 in online donations to help care for the animals, though the actual cost was not known.
It's unclear whether the animals were headed back to the Zanesville farm, though live TV helicopter video of the trailer appeared to show them heading east toward Zanesville.
Thompson's attorney has told the state's agriculture department that his client has adequate cages for the surviving animals.
Others have questioned conditions at the farm, including Tom Stalf, the Columbus zoo's chief operating officer.
Stalf has said in a sworn statement that he was at the Thompsons' property the day the animals were released. He said he saw two primates held in separate, small bird cages, along with a brown bear that was kept in a cage that wasn't fit for its size.
Terry Thompson's suicide, the animals' release and their killings led lawmakers to re-examine the state's restrictions on exotic pets, which are considered some of the nation's weakest.
Authorities in Ohio buried 49 dead exotic animals that were freed yesterday in Zanesville. The few that survived were taken to the Columbus Zoo. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
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This is an atrocity!! No one, NO ONE, should be allowed to own "exotic pets" in this country, let alone these two (now one) whackadoos. What a shame for the animals. I wish this country would wake up and pass some REAL anti-exotic laws to prevent people from having them who are not suited for the task.
Agreed. There ought be strong laws ... federal, since you can't leave it to even more corrupt state politicians ... barring the ownership of exotic animals. However, money talks. I feel so sorry for these surviving animals. The killing of the others solely as a result of due to her mentally ill husband's hideous actions ought be enough to keep these remaining ones safe. Sucks to be an animal in the world today. Hopefully, the woman will at least sell them to a zoo or someplace where they won't be part of a canned hunt, as is the case in so many states. That's probably too much to hope for, since these creatures have never been cared for properly and likely will never have a decent life. WTF is wrong with people?
I have to disagree. If you can keep the animals away from humans and not bother neighbors, I really don't see the problem with it. As far as care for the animals, this should be left up to local standards, depending on how strongly the local residents of the given county feel. That way owners don't have to deal with someone's opion who lives in another state, just because they have some kind of save the animals kick, or another wackadoodle idea.
So what gets me is this guy, Terry Thompson, who supposedly loved his animals; basically sentenced them to death when he released them. His wife should have let the last five stay with the zoo. The guy was a selfish jerk. He thought of no one else but himself when he killed himself.
Welcome to a long term solution to a short term problem Terry.
I feel so sorry for these animals. Wild animals should be in the wild.
To Chirs150, my issue is the care of the animals. I'm not some "save the animals wackadoodle" but these animals don't belong in "homes" with people. There are so many people out there not equipped to care for a dog or domestic cat, let alone a freakin' tiger! The animals suffer and human injuries are just about a given. Federal law on this one is the way to go, in my opinion.
JS, Agreed on all points. It's my personal observation that a large percentage of the people who want to keep exotics are just not quiet right in the head. Too often the animals are way more to care for than these people will admit. The only ones who suffer are the animals. It needs to be outlawed for everyones benefit. The zoo would have been a much better place for the five that she was given back.
By what and whose authority do you impose your rules on anyone. You sound like our Congress and the President subjecting your ideas on others
If she really cared about the animals, she would have left them at the zoo where they could be well cared for. She is as sick as her husband and heartless when it comes to those animals. Put her in a cage. There should be a law. She is incapable of caring for them. We'll be reading about the rest of them being dead in less than a year. She needs to go to prison for animal creulty.
I don't impose anything on anyone. It is my BELIEF that people should not be able to keep exotics in homes. My state is trying to ban ownership of pit bulls right now...a DOG, just a dog. Nothing special or mystical about them, they're just dogs (you get out of 'em what you put in them) but there are people who can buy baby animals who have seen their mothers killed in the wild and take them into tiny homes and raise them. Its sick. Personally, if every exotic would just eat its owner, I'd say that is poetic justice but more often than not, the animal just languishes and suffers. It is a fact that people in average homes cannot care for wild animals...they are WILD, they roam vast territories hunting for food and mates, how can ANYONE believe the right life for them is in a small cage in someone's home or farm?
Sucks to live in a free country, doesn't it? We have too many laws already.
We definitely do have too many laws but I, personally, think we could do away with many of the stupider ones that we all know exist and enact some that protect wild animals and people from these types of situations. The government worries about what we can eat, what we can say, everything mundane and inconsequential...this is a place they could make a real difference.
Chirs... come visit our lion and tiger refuge in Arkansas. Almost ALL of these animals come from MO who has no laws like OH. They are abused, ill-fed, awful cages, nasty conditions. Just terrible. I'm also not some save the tiger nut, but I think every state has the right and SHOULD have laws regarding the care. Personally, I don't think owning one should be allowed, but since they are, let's have rules to protect the innocent.
Each of the personal stories of these abused animals began with "suzie thought it would be fun to have a little tiger cub". Then they got big and bit their kid or dog, etc. Then they put the tiger in dog kennels made for animals half their size.
Sammy, are you hiding in some bunker somewhere to protect yourself from the Gubment??? You sound like a back woods numbskull. I guess we should allow animal abuse, dog fights, cock fights, maybe toss in a little child abuse while you are at it case DANG, we sure don't want them revenuers getting involved with our bidness.
These animals are dangerous and do not belong in private homes. Not good for the animals or people.
I understand that some of these animals are not treated to well, but I am saying that in places like MO, and OH, assuming your quote is correct, they should be free to set their own regulations, if they do not, I'm glad people from your state are willing to help out.
I'm just happy the rightful owner is getting the animals back.
People who want to own animals of this type, and ANYBODY who supports such ownership, is a pathological narcissist and sociopath. I've heard these scumbag jerks defend their right to do what ever the f-ck they want and everybody else can screw themselves, and the level of their need for self gratification is beyond belief. Not only would I outlaw the ownership of such animals by these irresponsible self indulgent sociopaths, but as punishment if one gets caught, they get locked in a a five by five by five wire cage, left outside with minimal protection, for one year.
It is only the animal's good luck that they didn't die the first time she and her husband were taking care of them- now the state gives them back, unreal...
Chirs150 -- Local animal protection laws in Ohio aren't even close to adequate, as proven with this case. Another commenter mentioned that Texas laws, or lack of, are even worse than Ohio's. I don't know, I'll take their word for it. Anyway, where adequate laws are nonexistent, the federal government should step in. Not every part of the country will enact responsible laws. And the rightful owner should have been the zoo where they've been cared for, or a qualified, licensed and regularly inspected sanctuary.
It all comes down to common sense...just because you can do something doesn't mean you should or it's a good decision. Wild animals have no place whatsoever in private homes. They demand constant care and the expense is enormous. Wild animals are always at the mercy of human beings...and let's face it...our track record isn't to good. We actually have people killing precious wild animals because they "think" it will give them an erection...seriously...when is stuff like this going to be stopped. I just can't wrap my head around foolishness like that.
This is not about rights...it's about common sense...and common sense says you should not have large wild animals living in your home. People keep saying how we shouldn't have government intervention in our lives...but we just keep doing stupid stuff...and though I agree with the not having government in our lives...someone needs to protect these animals from the rest of the animals on this planet. So until we can start actually using common sense what other choice is there?
These animals should have been left at the zoo.
Chirs, your theory is just rediculous. You honestly think the States have the only rights to pass laws? It is up to the states to pass laws for EVERY aspect of life? So really by your thinking, just suppose a state decides that child pornography is OK... then they have the right to allow it. Or say a state thinks it is ok dump radioactive fuel in a major river because hey.. it flows downstream to another state, then it is ok??? Use your head please. Again, it is just the basic principal of right and wrong and some states refuse to address the issue. The problem with states that DON'T face it is other states have to take up the slack. The refuge in Arkansas depends totally on donations and grants. They now have over 116 large wild animals. How many more can they take from states like MO who turn a blind eye? I recall the story of one cat where the chain the owner kept on it (inside a very small horse trailer) had grown into the cat's skin. And you think that is ok for a state to allow?
This is terrible. The animals haven't been, and likely won't be, taken care of properly. In order to have such animals, the caretakers need proper education and the animals need proper attention, freedom and nutrition. "Cages", as her attorney says, aren't going to cut it.
Ohio is a farming state - their legislators should know better and have already had better laws in place.
There are PETA supporters that seem to have the belief that NO ONE should have any pets. Period. So where they can decry the ownership of "exotics" (by the way, what makes an animal "exotic" anyway? You don't know what it is? That makes it "exotic?)
In fact, it seems their end goal is to get humans from using animals for food or for pets. That seems to be why the PETA HQ in Virginia has a kill rate of over 90% of the animals turned in for "fostering".
Ok, this story isn't about PETA, it is about someone who loves their pets - strange as they are - to the point of spending vast amounts of money and personal energy to co-exist with. In reading the article, the writer has put every journalistic turn of phrase to put the woman in a bad light. When the animals at t zoo were found to have no diseases, they had to say it as ' They didn't find any of the diseases they tested for." Not that the animals were checked by zoo staff and found to be healthy.
Haters are gonna' hate.....
Yes you are so right in what you said above! Haters will hate and PETA will TRY to take away all animals. And what is exotic? Very well said! Thank you !
You're both idiots. There's no justification for keeping an animal like that as a pet. When you keep something in a small cage all its life, all you're doing is keeping a captured animal. Pets are actually companions with which you interact. There is no way this woman can provide better can for these animals than the professionals. The previous conditions were very poor. Why should this time be any different? What's to prevent her from hoarding again? Just fricking stupid. And if you give me that "people should able to do whatever they want to do" line, I'll agree so long as you agree we should legalize all drugs, legalize prostitution (it's their bodies right?), legalize gay marriage, drop the abortion debate (it's their bodies right?), lower the drinking age (or eliminate it), etc. You can't just pick and choose to allow the things that YOU like.
Not really going with the story here but since PETA was brought up, I'll go there. PETA is not an animal shelter nor do they claim to be. They are a lobbying body basically. So all the "PETA kills animals crap" is just that. The people implicated in that case by the way were acquitted. That being said, I'm certainly not in agreement with not having any pets and some of the other radical things you've mentioned; however, "exotics" (wild, whatever you want to call them) have no place in someone's home. It has been proven REPEATEDLY that wild animals and non-human primates suffer terribly in "pet" situations. And when they aren't cute and start biting and peeing on things and doing what wild animals do, people dump them. There are plenty of domestic pet type animals out there to choose from...why does anyone need to have a pet tiger?
Scott... so..... disagreeing with you makes us idiots? Unless you have visited the site and seen the woman interact with her pets, you are making some rather "idiotic" assumptions with only hearsay from some news articles to go on.
And what evidence do you have to support your statement that all these animals are continually kept in "small cages all their life?" Is any cage "small" in your opinion? is a zoo enclosure too "small" when compared to their natural habitat? Shouldn't all zoos be closed down and the victems be returned to their native habitat? Or euthanized if they lack the hunting/foraging skills to survive? Should you just butcher the gazelles and feed the predators first and same them the trauma of being torn apart once they are let loose int he wild? Where does it stop? This makes PETA supported cringe, but zoos do exist. nature "preserves" do exist outside of the animal's original domain. Animals do live with people.
no what makes you an idiot is that you are not paying attention. she does not have the resources to care for them properly. They stated in the news the bear was in a cage way too small for him, he was chewing threw the wires. You would have to have millions. Large LARGE enclosers, vet care, food, full time help, up-keep of the grounds and enclosers, clean-up, space to take them outside. They belong in a sanctuary now since they cannot be returned to the wild where they really belong.
I think tha thte term "exotic" woudl be well crossed to "should be wild" in this situation and any involving the jailing of wild animals in pens too small..
These people may have gone to alot of expense to try to keep them, however, it apparently was still not enough for the animals to be living in conditions that are condusive to a happy and healthy life for them.
I won't argue that some PETA people go way to far...
These issues are NOT REP/DEM though folks... wrong is NOT connected to a political party.. and despite what so many of you seem to think, not ONE of the parties has ALL the answers... be HUMANS first... learn about the issue (and NOT just from the 5 minute spots on TV) and vote. All of this stricktly by the party-lines is not working for any of us.
@Jim Burrill: sadly you've got it wrong. Animals don't exist with people in the way you would like to believe they do. Those very same zoos you are talking about are actually serving a new purpose. They are no longer there just to entertain us with fascinating creatures we might not otherwise ever get to see in real life; they are the last bastion of animals who owe their endangerment and oftentimes their absolute extinction in the wild to the very same humans you seem to think they are capable of living in harmony with.
Just about all zoos, now, exist for the primary purpose of protecting and attempting to breed - maybe even reintroduce to their natural habitats - the last vestiges of hundreds of species of animals whose homes are being encroached upon, who are being hunted, and whose food supplies have been diverted to feed the burgeoning tables of humans. Zoos exist because human beings are quickly wiping out animals. Animals and humans can't live together: humans are too dangerous.
I agree one hundred percent the so-called animal rights protectors kill more than they save, many times over.
They never really try to help. They slaughter most of the animals that their owners just turned in, soon after their owners left. Except in certain cases when the surrendered animals were high-priced, much sought-after Persian cats which the PETA people would readily adopt them themselves or sell them for monetary gains.
Thank God the wife, Mrs.Thomson, was concerned enough to take them home.
Even if the caretaking could be better, it's still the best for the poor animals.
May I suggest to the kind woman? Be a little kinder: make a vow to build a large enough cage to have lily pond and a mini jungle to allow the animals to feel as if they are living in the wilds and prove her critics wrong. If she really cares for those animals, and can prove it, there is no reason why a Facebook account cannot be open to appeal for donations. It will take some convincing though.
They should be left at the zoo? Not on the animals' life! Who says the zoos care for the animals they cage? Try asking them to fence in a large are and have a pond with water and large stone built in them, and plant some trees, for the animals to roam and breathe some fresh air, and wait for the their ridiculous replies: lack of space, lack of funds. How about: lack of concern? I have come across many, if not all, zoos where animals wish they are dead.
They are put in small cages for a reason. Zoo visitors can have better views of these exoctic animals and their performances. The smaller cages the better for the said reason.
Some visitors, especially young boys, mischievious boys, will taunt the poor tigers or monkeys or bears, making them restless; or throw poisonous, harmful things like cigarettes or expired batteries at them! Some animals die quickly and some fall sick and have to be put to sleep.
You are free to give your suggestion, but please..leave the zoos, PETA or the RSPCA or their cousin organizations out of it.
These organizations are wellknown for their roles - to publicly display animals to make money out of them, or for the later, to put them out of their miseries.
Don't listen to these people. I don't. When I see donation boxes put up by these organizations I ignore them.
You should...too!
How horrible that they're returning these animals to this woman who has no resources to care for them properly. There is no reason for anyone to own exotic animals - they are not pets, as her husband found out.
And you know this how?
I happen to read, Fighting. That's how. If you bothered to do a little research, you'd know too. Funny how that works, isn't it.
It is good that these animals are being returned to their home. It is sad that 49 of them were butchered by trigger happy cops.
Exactly, a farm in Ohio is "home" to leopards.
Did you know that homo sapiens really evolved on Jupiter??
Their "home" is far away in another country, roaming HUGE areas and hunting and doing wild animal things. They are being returned to cramped cages where the were ill cared for to begin with.
A home where they're kept in dog crates without the space to stand up or turn around is a good thing? Where animals who are meant to live in highly social structures are isolated in bird cages?
They are being returned because it is her right.They are outlawing exotics in ohio.Alarmist response to a one off event
Its about time for Ohio to do this. Wild animals have suffered for the lack of laws pertaining to exotics there for far, far too long. Its not a one off. How many exotics are cared for (in Ohio or anywhere else) by private owners they way they should be? How many have acres to roam and prey to feed on, mates, etc?
Did you see the video of the lion trying to eat the baby yesterday? How would you like to see that video and then live next to this lady if you had a baby in the house/yard . . . ?
I feel sad for those animals. They would be much better off at the zoo where they have gotten healthy and have gained weight. As much as I would love to be able to own exotics, this is just not right. How can she possibly afford to care for them properly? Very sad.
This is very sad. Those animals are better off at the zoo where they will receive the care they need to thrive. They have gained weight and are healthy now. How can this woman possibly afford to give them the care they deserve? I feel she is being very selfish. Shame on her.
I'm sorry...yes. It would be wonderful to be able to have exotics; but it's not reasonable or fair to them.
The tragedy of life for these poor animals. Every single human that has been part of their lives has severly failed them. This is so sad.
These poor animals are better off in the zoo's enclosures than in the cages this woman will provide! Completely irresponsible on everyone's part!!! Travesty pure and simple.
This lady is very selfish. These poor animals. How could the state let this happen ?
Ohio has NOTORIOUSLY lax laws pertaining to ownership and care of exotic animals...and they're nowhere near as bad as Texas (look it up...its scary). Changing those laws has been such a long time coming. There's no way in the world those animals should be returned to a place where they were neglected and abused. Its truly disgusting.
The face of the leopard in the photo is heartbreaking. The animals should have been left at the zoo instead of at the mercy of someone, along with her husband, who had proven they didn't know what the h*ll they were doing. Wasn't her husband unemployed and unable to afford to care for the animals? Is the wife's situation any different now and has she acquired a sense of responsibility since?
Ohio needs to join the 21st century and enact animal protection laws and the entire country should ban private ownership of exotics, except for licensed shelters and rehabs. Is it a coincidence that Ohio has both lax animal protection laws and Boehner as a congressman? Yes, I'm bringing politics into it as it reflects a certain mindset.
John Carter: "Trigger happy cops" didn't "butcher" any animals. Police officers did what they had to do for the safety of the community. They could not allow wild animals to run loose in a populated area, and they were also sickened and saddened to have to kill those animals. Terry Thompson butchered those animals when he released them.
Absolutely true. I hate seeing any animal killed. None of those officers wanted to kill them, I'm sure but being charged with the safety of the community, the man who released them (the one REALLY responsible for all those deaths) left them with no option.
Dumb Judge, Dumb lady, poor animals. Leave them in the zoo where they will at least get proper care and be with others of their species. Shame Judge, Shame Lady.
It's not the judge's fault. If you want to place blame, here, put it on the lack of laws that would do something about this. The article says that after the incident the state legislature was prompted to look into this void but I'm not sure anything was actually done about it. The judge's function is to interpret the laws, not make them. Sadly, in this instance, it sounds like there were no laws to interpret.
This woman makes me sick. She doesn't care about these animals at all or she'd leave them in the zoo where they have gained weight and been taken well care of for the first time in their wretched lives. She's an idiot, one sick selfish idiot. She's so stupid she's incapable of comprehending how incompetent and unable she is to care for these beautiful creatures.
note to self - avoid Ohio at all cost....do they have short term memory, lack of common sense...this does not fall under "I got this great idea" category at any stretch of the imagination...Wild animals belong in two place, in the wild or under the supervision of trained people with the proper facilities to house said animals....
Granted I own dobermans which by some are considered dangerous but being a responsible owner they are trained and had to show proper paperwork for insurance reasons but there is a a huge gap between dog and leopards..what training has she gone through?
One of the best posts I've seen. I have four rescued dogs...2 Danes, a Lab and a pit bull (which my state is currently trying to ban). Like you, I've done all the proper things...he's neutered, always contained, well trained, insured...but he's not a tiger!
The only danger a well trained Dobie poses is a danger of making you fall in love...they are the greatest. I started in Dobie rescue and this is the first time in years and years that our family has been without one. Great dogs. Much better than pet tigers.
JS - love my Velcro dobes...off topic but since you are starting a dobie rescue my wife and I use to foster for DARE dobie.net..look them up..some members act like elitist but for the most part every one is cool..had to stop fostering due to navy and moving but we kept one of the females..started off a 40 pound wreck and is now a 10 year old cranky dog..lol best of luck to you and the dobies
I know DARE well. Wonderful group of people doing wonderful things for these great dogs. Keep up the good work with your dogs and keep on proving to people that "vicious breeds" don't exist, we get out of dogs what we put in!
5 bucks she's cat food in 1 year 2 bucks the bear gets her. .50 the little monkeys maul her to death.now that all the othe critters are dead she should have plenty of room for the last ones.
That would be poetic justice..."thinning the herd"...
JS you are the reason people don't want reasonable controls,you are for the animals entirely.Absolutely animals can be kept.The authorities should've been checking up on someone w 50 animals.Grow a pair
Not so! I am not "for the animals entirely" but I expect those who keep any type of animal to provide it with the RIGHT kind of care. Its the responsibility of an animal caretaker; you take on an animal voluntarily, you are signing on to provide it care for its lifetime. Sure animals can be kept...dogs, cats, birds, fish, ferrets, all manner of animals but really LIONS, TIGERS, BEARS, PRIMATES? Who has the kind of space to keep animals like that properly? And absolutely the authorities should have been checking but since there are no laws regarding the care / keeping of exotics in that state, the authorities were oblivious or knew and couldn't do anything. I'll grow a pair if you grow a brain.
And if this idiot was mauled or eaten by her "pets", I think it would be poetic. She's too stupid to realize they don't belong where she's keeping them. If they escape and maul someone else, that would be tragic.
Wanna see a (sad) hilarious reaction by a state official?? Try having a FERRET loaded in a carrier in your car at the BORDER CROSSING (yes, the glorious foreign state) of California. I did that when my husband and I moved as newlyweds. I had brought home the ferret as my wedding gift to my husband and he was a DOMESTIC member of our family! The border crossing guards acted as though we had six nasty tigers in our car- they couldn't run away fast enough. We had to ship the ferret out the next week, in Las Vegas outside the border of CA, or they'd have euthanized him at our expense. Some state laws are totally out of control, that's one. We had no idea they were illegal anywhere; they have been domestic since before the Egyptians built pyramids!!!
Then, there's the other equally sad extreme; no laws or regulations whatsoever for UN-domesticated WILD animals in states like Ohio. That situation is extreme- I don't see how anyone in their right mind could possibly justify that the home is in any way appropriate for leopards, large primates, and bears that were returned.....simply unbelievable. AFTER they were released in huge numbers to hunt the neighborhood -unaccustomed to being loose- by this family. There aren't enough words to say how negative this outcome has become.
Did the border patrol think the ferret was a mongoose or such, which would be illegal? Did you have the vet paperwork handy? Just wondering. They must see many more cats and dogs than ferrets. Ferrets are legal in the state. Agree entirely with your comments about the Ohio case.
I agree with Miskaffon, too many / too strict / senseless laws are bad as well. (My state is trying to ban pitbull type dogs...I know too well what "overlegislating" PET ownership can be like.) A ferret is a pet animal, legal to own in every state. I know I am here yelling about there not being enough laws (and in places like Ohio, Missouri, Texas, etc., there aren't)...but the other extreme can be detrimental to animals too. I am "pushing" REASONABLE legislation...NO ONE needs a pet tiger.
People who keep these wild animals are as sick and evil as the Nazi's who ran the death camps in WW2. God never made a stupid animal but he sure made alot of stupid humans!
WHY-WHY-WHY?? did the judge return the animals? something funny was going on at that farm, the husband "kills" himself??? the animals should be left at the zoo, WHERE THEY WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF PROPERLY!!!!!
" Nothing in Ohio law allows officials to check on these animals welfare", what the hell have Ohio law makers been doing since this guy went crazy.
One can only hope that during the time the animals were in the care of the zoo, Mrs. Thompson did some work on the property to make it better suited for the animals. Some animals, after having been in captivity for so long, aren't prepared to be released back into the wild, so it then becomes the job of humans to act as good stewards for their welfare. Mrs. Thompson, please do your best to really care for these animals.
First of all - is there some way I can get rid of those @#*&##&^!!!! older and newer icons. I've lost two replies due to being somewhere near them when I tried to post. Assistance with this will be appreciated.
On to the topic at hand, there's no questioning the need to do something about exotic animals privately held. That's a no brainer. What is problematic is what's to be done with the exotics already out there. Government will attend to the matter in their habitually glacial slowness. What to do in the meantime?
PETA is not the answer. That's not to say there aren't folk out there doing good work. My experience has been with THE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY outside Keenesburg, Co. They have gone as far as South America to do rescues as well as those done in this country. Go to their web site: www.wildanimalsanctuary.org and take a look. They are providing an enviornment very like what these animals would have known in the wild. There are people with a viable solution to this problem. You'll like what you see.
It breaks my heart. These animals are not designed to be caged, and this woman needs help with her collection fetish. They really ought to pass a Federal law, and that they have not yet is an indication of how backwards we can be.
absolutely unreal. They had deplorable conditions for these beasts before her husband turned them all lose and killed himself. She knew he had just gotten out of a years incarceration due to gun charges, and now she gets these animasl back?? Come on where is common sense here? This person doesn't have it and now the state is showing that they don't either....
A wild animal sanctuary, here in Colorado, takes the large predators. Yes, they do take donations, and act like a for-profit zoo. However, they NEVER take a viable animal from the wild. They get them, mostly, from people like this..... selfish wanna-be zoo keepers!
I'm a widow lady also; I can't imagine keeping large animals also.I have my hands full keeping up house;yard; and cars.I can only keep up necessities and barely do that .I wish her luck.