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We bought a zoo.. and then freed the animals

post #1 of 72
10/19/11 at 3:53pm
Thread Starter 

A tragic story out of Ohio:

 

A rinky dink private zoo owner goes mad, frees dozens of animals, and then kills himself

 

slide_194012_420332_large.jpg

 

 

In the aftermath, the cops have been on a rare and endangered animal killing spree:

 

 

 

Quote:

ZANESVILLE, Ohio -- Sheriff's deputies shot nearly 50 wild animals – including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions – in a big-game hunt across the Ohio countryside Wednesday after the owner of an exotic-animal park threw their cages open and committed suicide in what may have been one last act of spite against his neighbors and police.

 

As homeowners nervously hid indoors, officers armed with high-powered rifles and shoot-to-kill orders fanned out through fields and woods to hunt down about 56 animals that had been set loose from the Muskingum County Animal Farm by its owner, Terry Thompson, before he shot himself to death Tuesday.

 

After an all-night hunt that extended into Wednesday afternoon, 48 animals were killed.

 

 

 

 

They killed eighteen Bengal tigers... there are less than 1400 left in the world...

 

 

Quote:

Jack Hanna, TV personality and former director of the Columbus Zoo, defended the sheriff's decision to kill the animals, but said the deaths of the Bengal tigers were especially tragic. There are only about 1,400 of the endangered cats left in the world, he said.

 

"When I heard 18 I was still in disbelief," Hanna said. "The most magnificent creature in the entire world, the tiger is."

 

I went to one of these little zoos in the Catskills once. It had the saddest looking tigers you'd ever seen. It's one of the reasons I am kind of upset with the upcoming Matt Damon film. Those places are nothing less than animal prison camps

 


Edited by Princess Kate - 10/19/11 at 4:04pm
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post #2 of 72
10/20/11 at 2:15am

Just think: if they'd have shot a dolphin, you could finally realise your lifelong dream.

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post #3 of 72
10/20/11 at 8:27pm

Honestly, this is a horrible horrible thing that happened. It actually makes me sick that all these animals were killed like this! They could have atleast tried to sedate them, rather than going all gung-ho and killing them.

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post #4 of 72
10/21/11 at 5:07am

 

New Yorker had a great write up about this sad case:

 

 

Quote:
There will always be vain, obsessive people who want to own rare and extraordinary things whatever the cost; there will always be people for whom owning beautiful, dangerous animals brings a sense of power and magic. It must be like having a comet in your backyard, a piece of the universe that is dazzling and untouchable right outside your door. But animals live and die and breed and feel pain and can inflict pain. There is no excuse for any individual to own them, period. States should pass laws making it illegal to own or trade wild animals; the phony “educational” permits that many private owners have used to skirt those laws should be eliminated. There is no constitutional right to own a Bengal tiger. It’s not a matter of individual freedom; as we have seen in Zanesville, it is first and foremost a public-health issue. Would you want to live next door to someone who owned animals that could kill you if they just happened slip out of their cages?
 

 

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/susanorlean/2011/10/wild-animals-dont-want-to-be-owned.html

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post #5 of 72
10/21/11 at 9:48am

I agree. There is no reason to own animals like that. It shouldnt be legal to do so.

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post #6 of 72
10/21/11 at 9:55am

on the flip side, would make for an interesting horror flick.

 

lions and tigers and bears oh my

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post #7 of 72
12/27/11 at 8:41am
Thread Starter 

HORROR:

 

FNdead_exotic_animals_111019_620x350.jpg

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post #8 of 72
12/27/11 at 12:51pm

So why didn't they try and sedate them again?

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post #9 of 72
12/27/11 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Savage View Post

So why didn't they try and sedate them again?



I think they mentioned the difficulty in getting the proper sedatives in the proper dosages in time to prevent possible harm to the citizens in the area.  What works on a tiger won't work on a bear, for instance.  And they were also concerned that a wounded, drugged animal might be more dangerous,

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post #10 of 72
12/27/11 at 1:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Savage View Post

So why didn't they try and sedate them again?



seems unnecessary now.

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post #11 of 72
12/27/11 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 

There are 7 billion people, and just a handful of tigers in the world. They could have let all 23 tigers eat their fill of Ohioans and I'd not have shed a tear. The loss of all those Bengal tigers is the tragedy 

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post #12 of 72
12/27/11 at 4:39pm

Oh Kate, you really need to stop talking in such hyperbole. It doesn't look good.

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post #13 of 72
12/27/11 at 4:59pm
Thread Starter 

Zero hyperbole. I stand with the tigers

 

26951ceb.jpg

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post #14 of 72
12/27/11 at 5:05pm

Oh Kate, you're deeply worrying sometimes, you seem to have such a great detachment from the rest of humanity. I wish you'd think things through beyond raw, instant emotional reactions.

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post #15 of 72
12/27/11 at 5:14pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanCE View Post

Oh Kate, you're deeply worrying sometimes, you seem to have such a great detachment from the rest of humanity. I wish you'd think things through beyond raw, instant emotional reactions.



 

I have a great detachment from any elements of humanity that would execute 23 tigers without even calling in animal control. These animals are extremely endangered, and they didn't even bother to make the smallest effort to save them. It's just a bunch of hick cops on an endangered animal killing spree

 

Even if each tiger had eaten one person (never would have happened, most tigers are scared of people and are not man eaters), it would be a fair trade. There are more people than tigers. I'm sorry, it's a numbers game

 

These cops killed 1/77th of the Bengal Tiger population in an afternoon

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post #16 of 72
12/27/11 at 5:29pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post
 There are more people than tigers. I'm sorry, it's a numbers game


This is the kind of attitude you bring up, in all manner, across the board. It genuinely scares me. You seem unaware to empathy of other people. 

 

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post #17 of 72
12/27/11 at 5:41pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanCE View Post

Quote:


This is the kind of attitude you bring up, in all manner, across the board. It genuinely scares me. You seem unaware to empathy of other people. 

 


 I've posted more than 12 000 times, and I've displayed plenty of empathy along the way. In this situation I feel the loss of tiger DNA (genetic diversity is important to survival, and is a critical issue for endangered species) along with 1/77th of the global Bengal tiger population in this incident is the more serious issue when compared to the possible loss of human life

 

To put it in movie terms, the troubles of a few people don't amount to a hill of beans when you compare it to the plight of tigers in 2011

 

I close with this, and then that is all I have to say, as I don't appreciate being called heartless for sticking up for endangered species

 

Tigers are mean 
Tigers are fierce 
Tigers have teeth 
And claws that pierce. 
 
Tigers are great 
They can't be beat 
If I was a tiger 
That would be neat! 
 
Tigers are nimble 
And light on their toes 
My REspect for tigers 
Continually grows. 
 
Tigers are perfect 
The e-pit-o-me 
Of good looks and grace 
And quiet dignity! 
 
Tigers are great 
They're the toast of town 
Life's always better 
When a tiger's around!
 
In a year that saw RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES as the big hit, I'm frankly shocked you're on my ass over my displeasure with cops mowing down endangered animals. It's a bit of a head scratcher
 

acb0730d.jpg

 
Guy Pearce agrees with me
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post #18 of 72
12/27/11 at 5:44pm

Because I think, as sad as it is, its realistic that this is going to happen when idiots keep dangerous and wild animals and let them out. But, I'd also don't wish death on humans either.

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post #19 of 72
12/27/11 at 5:47pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanCE View Post

Because I think, as sad as it is, its realistic that this is going to happen when idiots keep dangerous and wild animals and let them out. But, I'd also don't wish death on humans either.



 

I don't wish death on anyone, I'm saying that if deaths had been incurred while these tigers were safely wrangled, I'd say it was an inescapable loss of life that ultimately served a greater good

 

Don't forget these people voted to allow such a "zoo" in their state at one point in time. Tigers didn't magically transport themselves to north America. When they got loose, it was our responsibility to protect them, not say "oops, gotta slaughter em all now"

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post #20 of 72
12/27/11 at 5:47pm

I wonder if Tiger burgers taste good.

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post #21 of 72
12/27/11 at 5:54pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post

I don't wish death on anyone, I'm saying that if deaths had been incurred while these tigers were safely wrangled, I'd say it was an inescapable loss of life that ultimately served a greater good.

 

Kate, it's things like this that worry me. If people had died, in the attempt to capture these animals safely, the animals would have been destroyed anyway. This was always going to end bad, but saying that human life is less valuable than a tiger's is absurd and detached. These animals would probably not have properly bred in captivity. Its sad they got shot, but those cops aren't the ones killing them in their natural habitat.
 

 

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post #22 of 72
12/27/11 at 6:01pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanCE View Post

Quote:

 

Kate, it's things like this that worry me. If people had died, in the attempt to capture these animals safely, the animals would have been destroyed anyway. This was always going to end bad, but saying that human life is less valuable than a tiger's is absurd and detached. These animals would probably not have properly bred in captivity. Its sad they got shot, but those cops aren't the ones killing them in their natural habitat.
 

 



 

They would not have been put down. Once safely captured, it would be against federal law and the media circus would have prevented such actions from being taken. As much as I hate PETA, they'd have been all over this

 

 

These were just hicks with rifles, eager to hunt big game. It had nothing to do with some huge safety concern

 

Anyway, 

 

Im glad you're an animal expert and can rule out tigers breeding in captivity (you're wrong), and besides, it's about capturing their genetic information, not just breeding

 

Some of these species will most likely die because of humans in the next 100 years. The hope is to be able to clone a stable population in the distant future

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post #23 of 72
12/27/11 at 6:03pm

You live in an absolute fantasy sometimes. 

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post #24 of 72
12/27/11 at 6:37pm

If this had never happened, if this yahoo hadn't gone nuts, released all the animals and offed himself, I really doubt he would have been breeding them.  They'd have died in captivity of old age or illness, and we'd be down the same number of tigers, only gradually instead of all at once.  This wasn't a make or break opportunity for tiger breeding here.

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post #25 of 72
12/27/11 at 6:46pm

Exactly. And if they'd killed anyone while out, they'd have been destroyed. These tigers were going to die no matter what, because of the unfortunate situation they'd been placed in.

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post #26 of 72
12/28/11 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post


 

These were just hicks with rifles, eager to hunt big game. It had nothing to do with some huge safety concern

 

If you don't think that TIGERS ROAMING FREE THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS isn't a safety concern, then you're off your fucking rocker.

 

Go ahead, walk up to that scared tiger walking down the street and pet it on the head.  If you escape without injury, I will buy you a Coke.

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post #27 of 72
12/28/11 at 1:39pm
Thread Starter 


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Will Kane View Post



If you don't think that TIGERS ROAMING FREE THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS isn't a safety concern, then you're off your fucking rocker.

 

Go ahead, walk up to that scared tiger walking down the street and pet it on the head.  If you escape without injury, I will buy you a Coke.



 

Bengal Tigers are protected by the endangered species act. Once captured they could not have been put down. The tigers were not in "neighborhoods", they were out in the middle of nowhere being picked off in fields and on the farm by cops with sniper rifles from helicopters

 

THERE IS NO REASON THEY COULD NOT HAVE USED TRANQUILIZER RIFLES

 

They gunned them down even though non lethal means would have worked

 

Tigers eat people all the time and are allowed to live. Some guy was torn apart at the Singapore Zoo by two rare white tigers in 2008. Though zoo staff had loaded weapons on scene, they let the tigers eat the guy while they tried to scare them away. The tigers were ultimately not put down because they were, quote, "behaving naturally"

 

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post #28 of 72
12/28/11 at 1:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post


 



 

Bengal Tigers are protected by the endangered species act. Once captured they could not have been put down. The tigers were not in "neighborhoods", they were out in the middle of nowhere being picked off in fields and on the farm by cops with sniper rifles from helicopters

 

THERE IS NO REASON THEY COULD NOT HAVE USED TRANQUILIZER RIFLES

 

They gunned them down even though non lethal means would have worked

 

Tigers eat people all the time and are allowed to live. Some guy was torn apart at the Singapore Zoo by two rare white tigers in 2008. Though zoo staff had loaded weapons on scene, they let the tigers eat the guy while they tried to scare them away. The tigers were ultimately not put down because they were, quote, "behaving naturally"

 



They weren't in neighborhoods yet, you are correct.  Who knows, maybe they were all going to find some nice spot in the woods and hang out for the rest of the week. 


To you, animals matter more than people.  You've shown that already in this thread.  If you want to blame anyone, blame the jackass that owned them & decided to let them out of their cages.  If he wanted to kill himself yet still give a shit about those animals, he would have donated them to an actual preserve or zoo.  Even Jack Hanna, who knows more about animals than you do, said the cops did the right thing here.  They weren't "hicks with rifles, eager to hunt big game."  They were cops doing what was necessary in the moment to protect the citizens of their town.

 

 

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post #29 of 72
12/28/11 at 1:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Will Kane View Post



They weren't in neighborhoods yet, you are correct.  Who knows, maybe they were all going to find some nice spot in the woods and hang out for the rest of the week. 


To you, animals matter more than people.  You've shown that already in this thread.  If you want to blame anyone, blame the jackass that owned them & decided to let them out of their cages.  If he wanted to kill himself yet still give a shit about those animals, he would have donated them to an actual preserve or zoo.  Even Jack Hanna, who knows more about animals than you do, said the cops did the right thing here.  They weren't "hicks with rifles, eager to hunt big game."  They were cops doing what was necessary in the moment to protect the citizens of their town.

 

 

I think we just have to agree to disagree. I'll salute the example of the brave employees of the Singapore Zoo, who refused to kill tigers even while a friend of theirs was being eaten before their eyes. They clearly would agree with me on this situation
 

 

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post #30 of 72
12/28/11 at 2:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanCE View Post

You live in an Aspergers fantasy all the time. 



Fixed.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Will Kane View Post

If you don't think that TIGERS ROAMING FREE THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS isn't a safety concern, then you're off your fucking rocker.

 

Go ahead, walk up to that scared tiger walking down the street and pet it on the head.  If you escape without injury, I will buy you a Coke.


Make it a Monster Energy Drink and no conversation and I bet you'd get yourself a deal.

 

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post #31 of 72
12/28/11 at 2:03pm

Yes, those brave employees who stood on the other side of a cage and watched a tiger eat someone.  Bravo for them.

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post #32 of 72
12/28/11 at 2:04pm

They bravely allowed their friend to get eaten? If zoos ever start giving out Purple Hearts, I know who'll be first in line.

 

EDIT: Dickson, you sunuvabitch!

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post #33 of 72
12/28/11 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post

I think we just have to agree to disagree. I'll salute the example of the brave employees of the Singapore Zoo, who refused to kill tigers even while a friend of theirs was being eaten before their eyes. They clearly would agree with me on this situation
 

 



I bet you think Jeremy Davies' character was really brave in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. 

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post #34 of 72
12/28/11 at 2:20pm

There was just one thin wall between him and a Nazi!

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post #35 of 72
12/28/11 at 4:31pm

I don't want to pile on here Kate but you really should consider your stance a bit more. I live about 30 miles from where this went down and have all my life. I've got no love for people who collect animals like him and I certainly wish the laws in the this state were more strict, but they aren't. It was getting near dark and within a two mile radius of this dude's "farm" there is a major highway and probably somewhere around 50 houses. Not densely populated but certainly not in the middle of nowhere. As was pointed out earlier, it isn't easy to tranq an animal and most places don't have exotic animal experts available to assist at the drop of a hat. The local animal control folks, AKA the dog warden, are certainly not equipped to handle this type of thing. The sheriff had to choose between letting the animals go for the night and hoping they didn't hurt anyone or killing them. The choice is clear. It's not his fault you feel more for animals than you do for people who have done nothing wrong, aside from living in Ohio, near a crappy person. There is a lesson to be learned here and I'm quite certain you won't get it but I just wanted to chime in because I'm an Ohioan and I raise animals (not exotic, unless you consider mini donkeys exotic) so I'm familiar with a lot of this.

 

As a side note, there are a lot of rumors going around that it was actually MURDER and the animal escape was an attempt to cover it up. So, that is interesting.

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post #36 of 72
12/28/11 at 4:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Baker View Post

I don't want to pile on here Kate but you really should consider your stance a bit more. I live about 30 miles from where this went down and have all my life. I've got no love for people who collect animals like him and I certainly wish the laws in the this state were more strict, but they aren't. It was getting near dark and within a two mile radius of this dude's "farm" there is a major highway and probably somewhere around 50 houses. Not densely populated but certainly not in the middle of nowhere. As was pointed out earlier, it isn't easy to tranq an animal and most places don't have exotic animal experts available to assist at the drop of a hat. The local animal control folks, AKA the dog warden, are certainly not equipped to handle this type of thing. The sheriff had to choose between letting the animals go for the night and hoping they didn't hurt anyone or killing them. The choice is clear. It's not his fault you feel more for animals than you do for people who have done nothing wrong, aside from living in Ohio, near a crappy person. There is a lesson to be learned here and I'm quite certain you won't get it but I just wanted to chime in because I'm an Ohioan and I raise animals (not exotic, unless you consider mini donkeys exotic) so I'm familiar with a lot of this.

 

As a side note, there are a lot of rumors going around that it was actually MURDER and the animal escape was an attempt to cover it up. So, that is interesting.



 

I am glad you were not eaten

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post #37 of 72
12/28/11 at 4:50pm

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rando View Post

I wonder if Tiger burgers taste good.



They sure do! 

 

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post #38 of 72
12/28/11 at 5:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post



 

I am glad you were not eaten



Well, I appreciate that.

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post #39 of 72
12/28/11 at 5:34pm

The brave thing to do would have been to let yourself be eaten in the name of tiger eugenics.

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post #40 of 72
12/29/11 at 12:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post



 

I am glad you were not eaten



tumblr_lvv0x0BAky1qii6tmo1_500.gif

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post #41 of 72
1/2/12 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Baker View Post

I don't want to pile on here Kate but you really should consider your stance a bit more. I live about 30 miles from where this went down and have all my life. I've got no love for people who collect animals like him and I certainly wish the laws in the this state were more strict, but they aren't. It was getting near dark and within a two mile radius of this dude's "farm" there is a major highway and probably somewhere around 50 houses. Not densely populated but certainly not in the middle of nowhere. As was pointed out earlier, it isn't easy to tranq an animal and most places don't have exotic animal experts available to assist at the drop of a hat. The local animal control folks, AKA the dog warden, are certainly not equipped to handle this type of thing. The sheriff had to choose between letting the animals go for the night and hoping they didn't hurt anyone or killing them. The choice is clear. It's not his fault you feel more for animals than you do for people who have done nothing wrong, aside from living in Ohio, near a crappy person. There is a lesson to be learned here and I'm quite certain you won't get it but I just wanted to chime in because I'm an Ohioan and I raise animals (not exotic, unless you consider mini donkeys exotic) so I'm familiar with a lot of this.

 

As a side note, there are a lot of rumors going around that it was actually MURDER and the animal escape was an attempt to cover it up. So, that is interesting.


You raise mini-donkeys?

 

Cool.

 

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post #42 of 72
1/2/12 at 9:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Baker View Post
mini donkeys 


I. WANT. PICTURES. NOW!  

 

Wee little donkeys!

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post #43 of 72
1/3/12 at 4:22am

I'm wondering how mini is mini exactly, because they sound like they have the potential to be seriously adorable.

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post #44 of 72
1/3/12 at 5:42am

I'll throw a picture up when I get home tonight but they are about 3 feet tall, maybe 3 and half feet at their head. They are the most lovable animals I've ever had. When I go out to feed them or visit with them, they are constantly all up on me. Their names are Georgia and Sally. I might breed them in the spring so I could have a couple foals sometime this year. I might just start a farm thread. I'm sure some of you would get a kick out of the goings on around my little ranch. I've got a goat too. His name is King Willie.

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post #45 of 72
1/3/12 at 6:13am

Wasn't the donkey from that Budweiser commercial a mini?

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post #46 of 72
1/3/12 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Baker View Post

I'll throw a picture up when I get home tonight but they are about 3 feet tall, maybe 3 and half feet at their head. They are the most lovable animals I've ever had. When I go out to feed them or visit with them, they are constantly all up on me. Their names are Georgia and Sally. I might breed them in the spring so I could have a couple foals sometime this year. I might just start a farm thread. I'm sure some of you would get a kick out of the goings on around my little ranch. I've got a goat too. His name is King Willie.


 

Please start that thread.

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post #47 of 72
1/3/12 at 2:50pm

donkey.jpg

 

That is me and the donkeys. I'm going to go ahead and start a farm thread too. It'll be up later tonight. I'll even put in some more pictures and a story or two. I'm hoping it'll be fun.

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post #48 of 72
1/3/12 at 2:56pm

This is the best thing that could possibly have come out of this thread. Also, I want the gossip on the possible MURDER!

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post #49 of 72
1/3/12 at 5:40pm

Started my farm thread. The gossipy stuff about this dude was that his dealings with exotic animals put him in debt to unsavory people and one of them had finally had enough. Also, I heard some people say his wife, who was supposedly out of town, might not have been out of town. Pretty standard stuff when people die in semi-mysterious circumstances around here.

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post #50 of 72
1/3/12 at 5:43pm

Brilliant. TO THE FARM THREAD!

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