[QUOTE][B]
Dozens of exotic animals have escaped from a private zoo in Zanesville, Ohio, and are roaming the area, say police.[/B]
Police have been receiving sightings of cheetahs, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, tigers and lions. Twenty-five animals have reportedly been shot dead.
The animals' owner, Terry Thompson, was found dead at the zoo, Muskingum County Animal Farm, but police have not said how he died.
Fences were left open at the farm, police said.
Officers are patrolling the 40-acre (16-hectare) zoo and surrounding area in cars and have urged local people to stay indoors. Several local school districts cancelled classes.
Ohio has some of the country's most lax regulation of exotic pets, reports say - and some of the country's highest rates of injuries and deaths caused by them.
[B]
'Bad situation'
[/B]"These are wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa," Sheriff Matt Lutz told a news conference.
He said his office began getting phone calls at about 17:30 local time (21:30 GMT) on Tuesday saying animals were loose on a road just west of Zanesville.
Four armed deputies were dispatched to the zoo, where they found Mr Thompson's body and the animal cages open. Several aggressive animals found near the body were shot, he said.
Mr Lutz said his main concern was protecting the public in the largely rural area.
"This is a bad situation," Mr Lutz said. "It's been a situation for a long time."
Federal Division of Wildlife officers have been drafted in to help with the situation, a local official said.
A neighbour of Mr Thompson, Danielle White, said he had been in legal trouble, and police said he had recently been released from jail.
A local resident, Bill Weiser, said Mr Thompson had been a colourful character who flew planes, raced boats and owned a custom motorcycle shop which also sold guns.
"He was pretty unique," Mr Weiser told AP. "He had a different slant on things. I never knew him to hurt anybody, and he took good care of the animals." [/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) - Police armed with rifles are patrolling rural Zanesville where dozens of animals escaped from a wild-animal preserve and where the owner's body later was found.
Some school districts canceled classes Wednesday as the remaining bears, big cats and other beasts from the Muskingum County Animal Farm were hunted down.
Police started getting phone calls at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday that wild animals were loose just west of Zanesville. Four sheriff's deputies with assault rifles in a pickup truck went to the animal farm. Officers tell WBNS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Columbus, that Terry Thompson, the owner of the farm, was found dead outside of his home on the animal farm property. Police said the fences had been left unsecured.
The preserve legally held lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears. There were 48 animals at the preserve in east-central Ohio and authorities say they killed up to 25 of them. According to police, bears and wolves had been shot and killed. Sheriff deputies describe the animals as "full-grown" and "aggressive."
There were multiple sightings of exotic animals along Interstate 70, police said. Muskingum Sheriff Matt Lutz said resident safety is his primary concern. “We want our citizens to take any and all precautions they can tonight,” said Lutz. “Our number one priority is nobody gets hurt out of this ordeal. This is a bad situation.”
Police said staff from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and The Wilds were on scene, hoping to tranquilize the animals and return them to safety.
The Licking County Sheriff's Office said they had received at least four reports of exotic animal sightings at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday. As a precaution the Licking County Sheriff's Office said they had activated members of its SWAT team who were equipped with night vision and the weapons necessary to deal with the animals.
Animal expert Jack Hanna spoke with WBNS about the incident on Tuesday night. "It's a terrible situation, there's no doubt about that," said Hanna. "The loss of any animal's life is tragic, of course the loss of a human life would be even more tragic."
[/QUOTE]
From BBC, and my local news.
Just imagine going outside and suddenly, tigers!
The owner was found dead, police not saying how ... with the gates open?
Clearly it could have been an accident but that just sounds suspicious to me.
They did also say that his neighbor was just released from jail, so who knows?
Just hope they keep away from any chinese restaurants.
One time there was a bull charging up and down my street but that was due to a livestock truck crash. It was terrifying. I can only imagine what a real predator could do.
Rise of the Planet of the Exotic Animals
At first I thought it was funny until I realized there were several big cats and bears. And then I felt sorry for Zainesville.
Craiwky, that's a big wun!
[QUOTE=wallyroberto_2;32857762]Craiwky, that's a big wun![/QUOTE]
Did Steve Irwin rise from his grave? and what is he doing in the US?
Maybe it was animal rights activists?
Those dudes are pretty radical.
If it's any consolation, Jack Hanna showed up instead. :l
Sounds like something an ALF Extremist would do.
[QUOTE=HawkeyeTy;32857683]The owner was found dead, police not saying how ... with the gates open?
Clearly it could have been an accident but that just sounds suspicious to me.[/QUOTE]PETA
25 animals shot dead?
Now, I'm no expert, but most animals that are properly fed will be scared of humans, generally fleeing as opposed to fighting.
I understand bears being killed, as they are genuinely very dangerous, but hope that all of the endangered animals, such as the tigers (of which nearly all species are endangered) get recaptured.
[QUOTE=Terminutter;32858230]25 animals shot dead?
Now, I'm no expert, but most animals that are properly fed will be scared of humans, generally fleeing as opposed to fighting.
I understand bears being killed, as they are genuinely very dangerous, but hope that all of the endangered animals, such as the tigers (of which nearly all species are endangered) get recaptured.[/QUOTE]
Generally when someone sees what is usually seen as a vicious predator, they don't think about capturing it alive. They think about making it dead before it can make them dead.
Lions and tiger and bears, oh my!
[QUOTE=MIPS;32859040]Lions and tiger and bears, oh my![/QUOTE]
Dammit, read that in George Takei's vioce.
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;32857934]Sounds like something an ALF Extremist would do.[/QUOTE]
[IMG]http://iitv.info/gfx/alf.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;32859014]Generally when someone sees what is usually seen as a vicious predator, they don't think about capturing it alive. They think about making it dead before it can make them dead.[/QUOTE]
Then we have a great deal of public misconceptions to deal with, too. It's like sharks, a tiger or lion poses very little threat to you unless you challenge it or attack it first.
Well that's one more idea to add into either saints row 3 or postal
[QUOTE=Terminutter;32859955]Then we have a great deal of public misconceptions to deal with, too. It's like sharks, a tiger or lion poses very little threat to you unless you challenge it or attack it first.[/QUOTE]
Except for the fact that in a new environment it would be in a state of hyper-aroused fear or anxiety and there is no telling what it would do. A cornered tiger or lion could kill [and severely maim] multiple people and would be nearly unstoppable without at the very least a large caliber handgun. I think you have a few misconceptions of your own.
[QUOTE=CunningHam;32867887]Let's just go with whats on my facebook:
"You're trying to tell me they couldn't save a single animal without killing it? 56 animals and animal control kills all but 6. That's not their fucking job, the people who's sole purpose is the humane capture of animal can't do the job theyre paid for? They're animal CONTROL and plan A is to go Rambo?"
PS: my understanding is that there wasn't even an animal control, actually, they just went with police and guns and seeing what happens with that.[/QUOTE]
I'll just paste this from another thread I posted in...
"I read about this, and my dad was also talking about it earlier, and he said that you can't use tranquilizer darts on the big cats because they'll run off, hide somewhere and when they come to, they'll be fucking pissed and trying to find whoever did that to them.
I don't think there's a tranquilizer dart strong enough to take down a near 300 pound cat fast enough to where it won't run off and hide."
Thanks for the heads up, MSNBC
[img]http://i458.photobucket.com/albums/qq302/Jaylor09/ohokay.png[/img]
So, did any of them get rescued at all?
:(
[IMG]http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/297425_1574527340137_1744172170_816863_1289793243_n.jpg[/IMG]
Don't worry, they are all sleeping :) (Is it seriously this fucking hard to get tranquilizers...)
[QUOTE=plokoon9619;32869645]
Don't worry, they are all sleeping :) (Is it seriously this fucking hard to get tranquilizers...)[/QUOTE]
Is it seriously this fucking hard to be a rational person and not spout off this unreasonable nonsense left and right?
Why do so many people assume police just carry everything that can put something on the ground?
They need trappers to get their gear, get there, get briefed on the situation, agree to hunting 48 wild zoo animals in a city and then get their asses out there.
Meanwhile, the police dispatch is swamped for 4 hours with calls from frantic people begging for someone to get a fucking Lion off their couch.
"Hold on, we need to get a team of trappers, don't get eaten we'll be there in a few hours maybe eventually"
[editline]19th October 2011[/editline]
I don't recall any "Handling a Zoo outbreak with 35 fucking lions and tigers" sections in the police handbook.
This would have never happened had it been an Aquarium.
My aunt lives in Ohio. She said this was the only thing on the local TV stations when she called to wish me a happy birthday today.
Apparently the owner released the animals himself...he went so far as to [I]cut the wires[/I] so that the cages couldn't be closed again. Then he killed himself. It's a shame these animals are dead, but I blame the asshole who caused this more than I blame the police.
[QUOTE=HawkeyeTy;32869691]Is it seriously this fucking hard to be a rational person and not spout off this unreasonable nonsense left and right?
Why do so many people assume police just carry everything that can put something on the ground?
They need trappers to get their gear, get there, get briefed on the situation, agree to hunting 48 wild zoo animals in a city and then get their asses out there.
Meanwhile, the police dispatch is swamped for 4 hours with calls from frantic people begging for someone to get a fucking Lion off their couch.
"Hold on, we need to get a team of trappers, don't get eaten we'll be there in a few hours maybe eventually"
[editline]19th October 2011[/editline]
I don't recall any "Handling a Zoo outbreak with 35 fucking lions and tigers" sections in the police handbook.[/QUOTE]
except many of the animals were just sitting in front of their opened cages nervously when they were shot.
and at least one of the tigers was shot with a tranquilizer, but then killed after because it got angry when it was shot. they didn't even wait a few minutes for it to kick in.