Bears, tigers, lions and wolves escape from Ohio zoo
Sheriff Matt Lutz and wildlife expert Jack Hanna on the situation in Ohio
Police have shot and killed dozens of exotic animals that escaped from a private zoo in Zanesville, Ohio.
Sheriff Matt Lutz said he personally gave the order to shoot the escaped animals, including grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, tigers and lions.
On Wednesday, Mr Lutz said police believe they have now accounted for all the animals but one wolf and monkey.
The animals' owner, Terry Thompson, was found dead at the zoo, and police believe he killed himself.
“Start Quote
End Quote Jack Hanna Former director, Columbus ZooThis is like Noah's ark wrecking here in Zanesville”
Mr Lutz said a preliminary investigation suggested Mr Thompson left fences open at the farm.
Officials said the "volatile situation" of animals escaping from the Muskingum County Animal Farm and the approach of nightfall on Tuesday had prompted the shoot-to-kill order.
Staff from the nearby Columbus Zoo hoped to tranquilise the remaining animals.
US nature TV host Jack Hanna, a former director of Columbus Zoo, in the nearby Ohio state capital, said tranquilising animals in the dark was incredibly dangerous, and told reporters that "the sheriff did the right thing".
"You cannot tranquilise an animal like this, a bear or a leopard or a tiger [at night]," Mr Hanna told ABC before the news conference.
The shoot-to-kill order has come in for criticism
"If you do that, the animal gets very excited, it goes and hides, and then we have [police officers] in danger of losing their life, and other people."
'Like Noah's Ark'Mr Hanna said the scope of the event was immense.
"This is like Noah's Ark wrecking here in Zanesville," he said.
Overnight, police have urged people in Zanesville to stay indoors and flashing signs along nearby highways told motorists: "Caution exotic animals" and "Stay in vehicle".
Several local school districts cancelled classes.
"We didn't want kids waiting by the bus stop and seeing these big animals," Mr Lutz said.
Dead animals were scattered around Zanesville on Wednesday morning
Police have several suspects in custody after they attempted to steal one of the animals Tuesday evening.
Another animal was struck by a car on a nearby highway.
Ohio has some of America's most lax regulation of exotic pets, reports say - and some of the country's highest rates of injuries and deaths caused by them.
In 2010, an animal caretaker was killed by a bear at a property in Cleveland. The death was eventually ruled a workplace accident.
'Bad situation'Sheriff Lutz 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 the town.
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, Mr Lutz 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 were 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.
"He was in hot water because of the animals, because of permits, and [the animals] escaping all the time," Ms White said. A few weeks ago, she said, she had to avoid some camels grazing on the side of a freeway.
Mr Thompson had been released from federal prison three weeks earlier after serving a one-year term on firearms charges, according to the AFP news agency.
His farm was reportedly raided June 2008, seizing more than 100 guns.
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."
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Comment number 18.
kwilkins2 Hours ago
BBC needs to get all the facts before report wrong information. They did NOT escape from the Columbus Zoo. They were legally on a farm that had the animals. The owner committed suicide and had released the animals before he did.
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Comment number 17.
Boyd2 Hours ago
America is just a country of morons ... These people out killing the animals need to be out in the cages the animals came out of ... Along with the people who gave them the jobs ... A couple of minutes inteligent thought would have come up with any number of ways to solve the problem without killing the animals ... Hopeless ... Absolutely hopeless
Link to this (Comment number 17)
Comment number 16.
GreenPaws2 Hours ago
Ohia has the slackest laws on keeping wild, dangerous animals in private hands. Coincidence? So, please spare me the whining from police and residents now. You reap what you sow. Perhaps you'll learn. Meanwhile, as usual, it's the poor animals who suffer the consequences.
Link to this (Comment number 16)
Comment number 15.
BMT2 Hours ago
Seems nothings sacred for gun toting americans.If they're not shooting each other they're shooting animals.Surely they could have trapped/tranquilised these animals?What difference does night make for tranquilisers?Seems to be a poor excuse frankly.
Link to this (Comment number 15)
Comment number 14.
mikka2 Hours ago
Grizzly and black bears - exotic? Obviously so in Zanesville. The tranquilizer tale does not ring true either. Does indeed look like an excuse to go hunting for something different..
Link to this (Comment number 14)
Comment number 13.
U147581962 Hours ago
Should have just made everyone stay in til the morning - its not a good enough excuse for killing animals
We put too much value on human life sadly
Link to this (Comment number 13)
Comment number 12.
Dragonwight2 Hours ago
Tranquillized animals don't always go to sleep straight away sometimes them roam first ok no problem. But are they seriously saying they are incapable of following said animal and keeping people away during that process.Sounds just like an excuse to get them there guns out and blast away.A real tragedy and a sober lesson for those concerned.These animals are not pets.
Link to this (Comment number 12)
Comment number 11.
Nicomo2 Hours ago
"His farm was reportedly raided June 2008, seizing more than 100 guns"
Zanesville = InSanesville
The Zany people from Zanesville are truly insane
Link to this (Comment number 11)
Comment number 10.
Berthold Dwinger3 Hours ago
So the law found someting else, for the time being to shoot at ?
Those gun loving guys sure know how to pacify in a most democratic manner.
UP the USA - or similar.
Link to this (Comment number 10)
Comment number 9.
paulgasek3 Hours ago
Unbelievable! An earlier iteration of this story quoted someone as saying that darting the animals with sedatives was too dangerous. Did they call people who can do this sort of thing? At a time when tigers and other rare animals are in trouble, this was a wrong-headed response. Why not get people to stay indoors? Instead of just shooting all the animals so the humans could carry on . . .
Link to this (Comment number 9)
Comment number 8.
Nicomo3 Hours ago
"You cannot tranquillise an animal like this at night, If you do that, the animal gets very excited, it goes and hides"
So if you tranquillise an animal like those during the day, they get bored and go to sleep?
Something's wrong with your gun-toting expert's advice.
Link to this (Comment number 8)
Comment number 7.
wermrnmrsb3 Hours ago
That is horrible - just HORRIBLE! There's just NO excuse for it. I've worked in animal rescue/welfare since 1986 & I've seen SOooo many innocent animals suffer at the hands of cruel, negligent & just downright irresponsible humans - I am just sick and burnt out with it, now. Yet, another classic example of animals paying the price for human stupidity, negligence and arrogance >;-[
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Comment number 6.
chocolateninja3 Hours ago
Not the sort of place you want to go wandering around with a can of Whiskers........ I wouldn't mind giving a home to a penguin if there are any left after the cops complete their urban safari...... Makes me weep poor animals being shot and killed just because they got out. I know they are dangerous but is there any need to kill them all? I would have thought tranqillising them was far more humane
Link to this (Comment number 6)
Comment number 5.
its not over yet3 Hours ago
Why does Ohio have such lax regulations in the first place? It begs the question why keep these animals. The costs to fund feeding these animals must have been astronomical, maybe why the owner shot himself?
The best place for them is in the wild where they rightly belong.
Can some people not be happy with a cat, dog or master.
Link to this (Comment number 5)
Comment number 4.
Tim Howley3 Hours ago
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!!!
Link to this (Comment number 4)
Comment number 3.
sagat43 Hours ago
Due to his legal problems, he might have decided to commit suicide by letting the cage doors open. You have to blame Ohio's lax laws (on exotic animals) for this. Due to the number of animals i don't think it would have been possible to tranquilize all of them.
Link to this (Comment number 3)
Comment number 2.
the teacher3 Hours ago
Aaaand why not just traquilize them?
Link to this (Comment number 2)
Comment number 1.
LouSmorals3 Hours ago
Sounds like an unbearable situation.
Link to this (Comment number 1)
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