We are not talking about your normal everyday house cat

[Nina]

I understand why they had to do it but I am sick over all these animals being slaughtered today. Stupid humans.....

Deputies shoot escaped exotic animals in Ohio

Flashing signs on the highways in eastern Ohio warned motorists Wednesday: "Caution. Exotic animals."

Schools shuttered and some frightened residents said they were keeping to their homes as sheriff's deputies hunted lions, tigers, leopards and grizzly bears that escaped from a preserve after the death of the owner.

Terry Thompson, 62, was found dead and authorities were waiting on the results of an autopsy, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said. But he added that preliminary investigations indicated Thompson released his animals and then died from a self-inflicted wound. He had pried open cages and left the farm's fences open.

Thompson owned between 48 and 51 exotic animals. Lutz said most of them had been accounted for, but at least three -- a mountain lion, a grizzly bear and a monkey -- were still missing. Most of those that had escaped from their pens were put down.

It appears that Terry Thompson, 62, released his animals and then died from a self-inflicted wound, an official says.

Lutz said his deputies, who found themselves in a volatile situation, had to shoot some of the animals at close range. A Bengal tiger was put down after it got agitated from a tranquilizer shot.

"We are not talking about your normal everyday house cat or dog," Lutz said. "These are 300-pound Bengal tigers that we have had to put down. "When we got here, obviously, public safety was my number one concern. We could not have animals running loose in this county."

[Lady Cop]

i don't care if the guy wanted to off himself,
but he should have made arrangements for the animals first.
bastard. he knew it would mean their doom.

[BlueTiki]

. . . from a preserve after the death of the owner.

Preserve my ass!

If this douchebag really cared about these animals, he would have made sure they were safe and treasured after his death.

An exotic twist of a 'crazy old cat lady'.

[Nina]

Look, another Ohio animal freak!

Exotic Pet Owner Chained to Bed

COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The 17-year-old boy who found wild animal owner Sam Mazzola dead in his bed Sunday, was the person who chained Mazzola to his water bed the night before, according to Lorain County Sheriff’s Sgt. Donald Barker.

Mazzola was found face down on a water bed, with a sex toy in his mouth that was attached to a gag, causing him to choke to death, according to Chief Deputy Lorain County Coroner Dr. Frank Miller.

Mazzola was also wearing a leather mask with the eyes and mouth zipped shut and was handcuffed to chains that were attached to the bed and the floor

...

Mazzola’s death is another chapter in the story of the controversial wild animal owner. For years, he was the subject of complaints and investigations concerning the animals he kept at his North Marks Road home in Columbia Station and the bear wrestling act he operated before it was shut down.

[Lady Cop]

a lot of photos of Ohio situation at link.

only animals still loose are a wolf and a monkey. the monkey may have herpes, do not approach.




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-dead.html

[Cynical Ninja]

All these idiots with private menageries of exotic animals really grind my gears.

Go visit the zoo or watch the Discovery channel for fucks sake.

[Sphincter Cop]

I hope this doesn't escape anytime soon!

[Sphincter Cop]

Via Zanesville, OHIO

[Lady Cop]

SC

here's more about the assmunch who offed himself:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/us/exotic-...?hpt=hp_c1

this sucks

[Sphincter Cop]

SC

here's more about the assmunch who offed himself:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/us/exotic-...?hpt=hp_c1

this sucks

That is really sad......
Apparently, the herpes infected monkey was found inside one these stomachs. LOL

[Duchess]

Fucking fuck! How about a disclaimer or some kind of warning next time, huh?

[Sphincter Cop]

Ohio might be an interesting place to move to or visit. I'll have to put it on my bucket list.

[Cynical Ninja]

The death of the animals is the real tragedy here.

Disgusting really, what a waste.

[Duchess]

The death of the animals is the real tragedy here.

Yeah, it is. It's fuckin' amazing that they had to kill them all when there are other options. They got close enough to put a bullet in them yet they couldn't use any of means of capture. I already think people from Ohio are as stupid as the day is long now I think that those who should know better don't. They are all assholes, insignificant fucks without a clue. If you live in Ohio you are an insignificant fuck, got it?

[ramseycat]

I have to agree with Duchess here. Those poor animals didn't all have to be put down. What a waste of some beautiful animals.

[Lady Cop]

lengthy but worth reading in all fairness.
i listened to the Sheriff yesterday and truly feel they had no choice.
he was very sad about it too. the blame belongs solely on the motherfucker who let them loose. public safety had to be the Sheriff's first consideration. imagine the uproar if some child had been killed by a big cat?



Columbus Zoo director emeritus Jack Hanna (right) and Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz speak Wednesday of the 56 exotic animals killed since they escaped from a private preserve near Zanesville.


ZANESVILLE, Ohio — Amid expressions of horror and revulsion at the killing of dozens of wild animals in Ohio — and photographs of their bloody carcasses — animal rights advocates agreed there was little local authorities could have done to save the dangerous creatures once they began roaming the countryside after their owner released them before taking his own life.

Sheriff's deputies shot 48 animals — including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions — after Terry Thompson, owner of the private Muskingum County Animal Farm near Zanesville, threw their cages open Tuesday and then committed suicide.

"What a tragedy," said veterinarian Barb Wolfe, of The Wilds animal preserve sponsored by the Columbus Zoo. "We knew that ... there were so many dangerous animals at this place that eventually something bad would happen, but I don't think anybody really knew it would be this bad."

As the hunt winded down on Wednesday, a photo showing the remains of tigers, bears and lions lined up and scattered in an open field went viral provoking visceral reactions among viewers, some of whom expressed their anger and sadness on social networking sites.

Some local townspeople also were saddened by the deaths. At a nearby Moose Lodge, Bill Weiser said: "It's breaking my heart, them shooting those animals."

Authorities said the slain animals would be buried on Thompson's farm.

Will Travers, chief executive of the California-based Born Free USA animal welfare and wildlife conservation organization, said police had no choice but to take the action they did.

"It's a tragedy for these particular animals, for no fault of their own they've been shot, and I can see how difficult that decision was for the police," he said. Jack Hanna, TV personality and former director of the Columbus Zoo, also defended the sheriff's decision to kill the animals, calling deaths of the endangered Bengal tigers especially tragic.

The animals destroyed also included six black bears, two grizzlies, a baboon, a wolf and three mountain lions. Six — three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys — were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo.

"It's like Noah's Ark wrecking right here in Zanesville, Ohio," Hanna said.

A wolf was later found dead, leaving a monkey as the only animal possibly still unaccounted for in the mostly rural community of farms, widely spaced homes and wooded areas about 55 miles east of Columbus.

Officers were ordered to kill the animals instead of trying to bring them down with tranquilizers for fear that those hit with darts would escape in the darkness before they dropped and would later regain consciousness.

"These animals were on the move, they were showing aggressive behavior," Sheriff Matt Lutz said. "Once the nightfall hit, our biggest concern was having these animals roaming."

Veterinarian Wolfe had tried to save a tiger in a heavy bramble by using a tranquilizer dart, but the animal charged her then tried to flee. It had to be shot and killed by sheriff's deputies.

"I was about 15 feet from him and took a shot, and it didn't respond too much, and I thought we were OK, but within about 10 seconds he roared and started toward me," she said.

Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Merry, among the first to respond on Tuesday, said he shot a number of animals, including a gray wolf and a black bear who charged him from 7 feet away. He said he's an animal lover and only took pride in knowing he was protecting the community.

"All these animals have the ability to take a human out in the length of a second," he said.

[BlueTiki]

What a waste of some beautiful animals.

Au contraire . . .

I see potential wardrobe additions within those photos.

Hats, shoes . . . beautiful shoes and jackets!

And belts . . .