Deputies forced to shoot escaped exotic animals in Ohio - Polidicks

[B][release] (CNN)[/B] -- Flashing signs on the highways in eastern Ohio warned motorists Wednesday: Exotic animals on the loose. Call 911. 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. Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz. said Terry Thompson, 62, was found dead and authorities were waiting on the results of an autopsy. But he said based on preliminary investigations, Thompson released his animals and then died from a self-inflicted wound. Thompson owned between 48 and 51 exotic animals. Lutz said most of the animals 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. 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." Zanesville Mayor Howard Zwelling said he received calls from people who were concerned that the animals had been killed. He said authorities were trying to use tranquilizers whenever possible to save their lives. Sheriff's deputies used night vision equipment until daylight Wednesday to continue their search, which was hampered by rain. Lutz said deputies, armed with shotguns, were patrolling areas in pickup trucks. "There are still thought to be several dangerous animals on the loose, creating a public safety threat," he said. Sam Kopchak, Thompson's neighbor, said he saw lions and bears running free Tuesday evening. A tiger was chasing horses, he said. Kopchak managed to get himself and his horse into his barn and telephoned his mother. "We have a major problem,:" he told her. That's when she called the police. "It was like a war zone," Kopchak said when authorities descended on Thompson's property, set off the road named after Kopchak's family. Kopchak described Thompson as being aloof. He loved animals. Kopchak saw him driving one time with a baby black bear on his chest. Lutz said authorities found primates inside the house. The community was in a state of "shock and surprise," said Tom Warne, owner of Donald's Donuts and a lifelong resident of the city of Zanesville. "It's the craziest sort of thing," he said. Warne said he had met Thompson a few times. He used to come into the doughnut shop at one time. Thompson had his run-ins with the law. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal charges of possessing illegal firearms, including five fully automatic firearms, and had just been released from prison on September 30. A civil case seeking forfeiture of firearms is still pending, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Ohio's Southern District. Thompson also faced charges of animal cruelty in 2005. Lutz said law enforcement officials were well aware of Thompson's animals and made numerous visits to the property to look into complaints and ensure that Thompson was in compliance with permits Thompson's property is about two miles outside Zanesville, Zwelling said. Authorities said they were receiving reports of animal sightings by residents. Columbus Zoo director emeritus Jack Hanna drove into Zanesville overnight to assist in the search. But Hanna warned that the search was dangerous and human life came first. "We're trying our best to make sure no one is hurt doing this," he said. He said the animals were probably hiding out from the rain, but his advice to anyone who encountered an animal was this: Don't run. Just scream. In nearby Licking County, Sheriff Randy Thorp said he activated the county SWAT team, "who will be equipped with night vision and the necessary weapons to deal with any encounters with such animals." The menagerie of Thompson's animals also included wolves, giraffes and camels. Commuters reported seeing bears and wolves along Interstate 70. Lutz said one cat was hit and left wounded on the road.[/release] tl;dr: police shoot exotic animals because they escaped, they could have gotten humane trappers... source: [URL]http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/us/ohio-animals-on-loose/?hpt=us_c1[/URL]

[quote]Thompson released his animals and then died from a self-inflicted wound.[/quote] Well that's one way to leave a legacy.

This is quite a unique story.

I used to live 10 minutes from Zanesville... weird.

And suddenly owning exotic animals in the United States is going to become much harder. I guess I'll never have that tiger I yearn for.

[QUOTE=Mackalda2k6;32860017]And suddenly owning exotic animals in the United States is going to become much harder. I guess I'll never have that tiger I yearn for.[/QUOTE]They'll ban exotic animals.

Will Canada let me import tigers? I won't want a grizzly bear anymore because its not exotic if you can find one ever square mile :(.

[quote] tl;dr: police shoot exotic animals because they escaped, they could have gotten humane trappers... source: [URL]http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/us/ohio-animals-on-loose/?hpt=us_c1[/URL][/QUOTE] It says they only had to put down a few. They have been using tranquilizers.

Relevant. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBNMEwNx9x4[/media] Sorry if that's spoiling the movie. Maybe you can go to the past to stop me from making this p wait somebody's at the door, hold on

[QUOTE=Last or First;32860829]Relevant. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBNMEwNx9x4[/media] Sorry if that's spoiling the movie. Maybe you can go to the past to stop me from making this p wait somebody's at the door, hold on[/QUOTE][Embedding disabled by request]

This is honestly one of the greatest stories I've ever heard.

[QUOTE=garychencool;32859549]tl;dr: police shoot exotic animals because they escaped, they could have gotten humane trappers...[/QUOTE] They tried tranquilizing them, but they just don't go down with conventional tranq. These animals can and will kill without hesitation.

[QUOTE=Fahrenheit;32861692]This is honestly one of the greatest stories I've ever heard.[/QUOTE] i feel you on this what a great fucking way to go

[QUOTE=faze;32860043]They'll ban exotic animals.[/QUOTE] It's kind of a state-by-state thing Like I know for sure that in Georgia it's illegal to own exotic pets but luckily I live in Tennessee now so maybe I'll get that sugar glider one day

According to the news, one of the monkeys has herpes B virus :v:

I can understand having to put down some, he had fucking tigers and giraffes man. Man had his own fucking zoo.

I'm bumping this to my top 3 ways to die. Right under renting a Ferrari and driving it off the Golden Gate bridge.

What a grizzly end to this ordeal :(

The deputies were told to wear specially designed gear for such a task. Here is a shot of it in action: [t]http://content.hollywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/picture-611.png[/t]

Anyone complaining about them being forced to shoot them is being ridiculous. If a fucking tiger is in a public place and there is no quick or certain way of stopping it with tranquilizers, shoot it.

48 animals were killed by the way: [quote] [b]Ohio police kill 48 exotic animals – but wolf and monkey still on the loose[/b] Police on Wednesday killed 48 wild animals – including 18 tigers and 17 lions – after their owner freed dozens of exotic animals from his Ohio game preserve and then killed himself. [/quote] [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/19/ohio-police-exotic-animals-freed?newsfeed=true[/url] Might be NSFW: [url]http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02031/lions_2031881c.jpg[/url]

[QUOTE=Cloak Raider;32866828]Anyone complaining about them being forced to shoot them is being ridiculous. If a fucking tiger is in a public place and there is no quick or certain way of stopping it with tranquilizers, shoot it.[/QUOTE] This. It's easy to say "get a trapper" when you're not the one in the town who has to be on the lookout for fucking tigers and lions. Try to save as many as possible, but if it isn't going down, put it down. There isn't much room for error in a situation like this.

Human Life > Animal Life

I love how the OP tries to make it out like they hunted for fun. Way to ignore your own article, which explains 35 of the 48 killed to be fucking [B]Lions and Tigers.[/B] I'm all for recapturing animals peacefully but there's immediate action that needed to be taken in this situation. Blame the stupid sick cunt who released the poor animals into a fucking city. "I'm going to kill myself. Wait, that's crazy ... I need to open the gates to let all the killer fucking animals loose on a city and THEN kill myself" The fuck.

[b]Picture of the dead animals, :c[/b] [img]http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/111020122409-exotic-animals-09-horizontal-gallery.jpg[/img]

Damn, that's a whole lot of awful in one photo.

there's not much else they can do, the animals might get someone killed

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. What also doesn't help is he says that they've been hand-fed all their lives, and because of that, they have no fear, so they WILL attack someone they see. Dad also said the gates were [I]cut,[/I] and not opened. Why would the owner cut the gates open if he had the ability to open them normally, and then kill himself? He thinks that the ALF (Animal Liberation Front) had their hand in this, or someone(s) from PETA. I'm just telling you what he said, I don't really know what to think, myself. I live not too far from Zanesville.

So, they couldn't have gotten any stronger tranquilizer darts? Unless the step-up from what they were using was bullets, I don't see why not. [sp]But why did he have this many fucking exotic animals in the first place?[/sp]

[img]http://cyndysalzmann.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/wizardofoz460.jpg[/img] Lions, Tigers, and Bears! Oh my!