Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Saw this out my window this morning..........





Just kidding.  Did ya hear about all the wild exotic animals that are loose in SE Ohio this morning?   I'm hoping to catch one of the giraffes, I've always wanted one!

4 comments:

Deb W said...

I saw Jack Hannah on Fox News this morning. He defended the actions of law enforcement in killing all those animals, BECAUSE it was getting dark, they didn't have enough dart guns, and there was no way to safely determine in the dark if a darted animal was anesthetized.

He said a friend once darted a big cat, and as he approached it, it jumped up and - in a split second - the cat gutted and killed his friend - in front of several witnesses who didn't have time to do anything. Non-professionals wouldn't have had a chance, in this case.

He said since the animals were so near neighborhoods, there was no other way to handle it.

He was completely traumatized by the whole deal, and said he will have nightmares for the rest of his life about it.

A horrible tragedy all the way around, but that puts a different perspective on it when coming from him.

Somerhill said...

I completely support Sheriff Lutz and what he and his deputies had to do to protect people in the area.
I am against private citizens holding wild exotic animals in captivity. This should be left to proper zoos, research facilities such as The Wilds, etc.
This has given Ohio a black eye. I think laws and regulations will be changed now, but its sad that so many animals had to pay the price for change.

Somerhill said...

Here is an well written story on what happened.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/10/20/tragedy-waiting-to-happen.html

Somerhill said...

Bill To Ban Exotic Animals In Works

Responding to the slaying of dozens of wild animals released from a menagerie in Muskingum County the day before, Rep. Debbie Phillips said Thursday she would be introducing legislation to prohibit the ownership of large exotic animals. "Although an owner's intentions to keep exotic animals may be good, unfortunately, most private citizens do not have the proper training or resources to take care of wild animals," the lawmaker said in a release. "Their properties often are not equipped to safely contain wild animals, which poses a danger to themselves as well as other community members."

The bill, which will include an emergency clause, closely mirrors the expired executive order issued by former Governor Ted Strickland, the lawmaker said. It would grandfather in current owners but require them to register with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Wildlife and embed microchips in the animals for tracking purposes.

ODNR is currently working on alternative statutory changes and regulations, some of which may be expedited in response to this week's incident.

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