exotic animals and mixed feelings

After the latest issue on the big cats that were put down in Zanesville Oh lately ,,,the government is now imposing what may be some real strengent rule enforcment with exotic animals,,


I use to raise exotic birds years ago ,, exotic phesants and quail and a few ducks and turkeys ,, the birds had a aviary and we had sections that we planted weat and corn in and when it was ready we turned em loose in these areas and let them eat , we allways fed them all natural foods , they even had meal worms and you name it..

Back to the tigers and lions and this fellas establishment,, I was never there but IMO if he had this many animals in one area and they were not killing each other ,,,,,,then he must have been doing something right,,,, my guess is he took with him a lot of information that even jungle Jack himself doesnt know,, It realy reaks that this man killed himself and his animals had to be taken down.

The place looked like a slaughter house in the pictures ,, I dont condem the law enforcment for doing what they had to do .

My only issue is some of these animals were on the endangerd list , like less then 2k of them known left in the wild , IMO instead of bashing this man and making him out to be some sort of animal hater with no regards to their health and safety ,,,,and passing laws that hender the raising of these animals and sustaining the species ,,,,,,why isnt there a organisation that can find homes for these misfits,, the issue is,,,, we are moving in and destroying what was once theirs ,, not necessarily here in the USA but around the world,, ??

Amd humans were probably not high on the menue ..it strikes me a apex predator would rather kill a animal that can feed it for a couple days rather then kill something like a hman that it will eat in a few minutes,,,,but I am by far a expert on apex animals ,,,

It tears me up to know these animals had to die and it sadens me that this man had no options other to do what he did ??

Back to the birds,, they were considerd exotics because they are not animals that are native this region or in some cases even to this country,,,the Gambler quail isnt going to hurt any one and neither are the phesants of ducks , however they are still considerd exotics ,, I hope the govenor understands that in the laws he is going to write and sign.

Just like our fish tanks , if the animals are not native to this area this law could well efect our hobby ,, I hate to think that some one who doesnt wish to buy a permit for the fish they keep doesnt end up flushing them or what ever ,,,even worse I shutter yto think any one who wants to raise guppies will need to buy a permit because they are not native to the area....

I will personaly refuse to buy a permit for fish any way ,,

I think this issue may have consequences beyond what the govenor can see..

This is a election year and I am sure he is out to make himself look good to everyone who has a cause and a assosiation..

A real good freind of ours raises exotics , I have seen them bottle feed babbies from skunks to squirrels and ever kangaroos,,even mink and fox and axis deer , red stag deer and even russian boars and pot belly pigs..

He is in his late 60's early 70's and was kicked and beaten by a kangaroo that he raised from a bottle , it is the animals nature to do this and he knew it ,he allways told us as kids to be carefull arond these criters because they were just animals and not hmans ,,,,,I havent talked to him since he was released from ther hospital but I am relatively sure he holds no grudge against the kangaroo for doing what kangaroos do..

He let his guard down and that about all ya can say..

Heck the kangaroo was probably just looking for a little exersize??

Or trying to gain a notch on the seinority list.

If the roo want to kill the man I am sure it was verry capable .

It lived in their home with them for several years ..

I am just saying it would be nice to know there is some one around who can take care fo these animals when things go wrong..

If you have to buy a permit then the state should furnish some one who can care for these things as well..

I met a lady who raised balck bears, one of the most fond memories I have is playing with a bear cub!!

In my view, the guy was a hoarder with mental issues. He just got out of jail for illegally dealing guns and then used his inheritance to buy a bunch of cats, bears and other animals. His horses starved to death, the other animals recieved little to no veterinary care, etc. He was just a rich guy with baggage, not a genuine animal rescue person.

Personally, I don't think there needs to be bans on large exotics. Cows kill more people than exotic animals, yet there is no push to ban cows. Life is full of dangerous things, and death by lion is such a remote possibility, it is not worth legislation. However, there should be higher standard for keeping large carnivores. Bears and large cats need acreage, not boxes and if you can't provide that for them, then you don't get to have any. You also have to be wealthy enough to pay for vet care and food.

I'm sure this incident will reinvigorate the debate to ban everything but house cats, dogs and farm animals. So be ready to fight back for your right to keep aquariums.

Yea I agree you shold need to prove you have the means to raise animals respectably and responcibly ..

I also think they have given this fella a bads rap,, I understand he had this operaton runnning for a long time, in fact there is a place called the wilds not too far from there that could have possible delt with these animals ,,,

The Wilds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In a way I look at many pet stores in the same light as you described him..

What realy gets me is why would the govenor lie in public and make a statement that no one realy knows who or where all these animals are and how many there are..

We had to buy a game propagators lisence /permit to sell any of our birds to any one or we risked major fines , they werent that expensive and we bought several over the years..

I cant understand why he would lie?

Activists call for changes in Ohio exotic animal ownership laws - WTOL.com - Toledo's News Leader |

I found this link that deals with the story and the ohio laws and the coments were rather realsitic..

Is a zoo any diferent then some one who allows the animals to rome around in a several acre feild rather then a cage?


I seen jungle Jack's monkey inclosure,his elephant pen, not to mention his cheta pens and his flock of pink flamingos all cramed into a small water hole..

I just think some private folks do things better then thsoe who are in it all for the money..

I'm not a huge supporter of zoos, you're right, it's exactly the same for all practical purposes to keep animals in a zoo or in a private collection.

The guy let all of the animals out then killed himself. He made this mess. When some moron leaves their loaded gun out for their kid to find, the same thing happens. The government loves it when a single irresponsible person does something wrong. They get to jump in and save us with a piece of legislation. I hate legislation, I hate government and I hate morons.

I do think that the LOCAL police and government should have some involvement if there are large predators kept on a property. I say LOCAL because they are the people who will be called if something bad happens. Laws try to replace common sense. Venomous snakes are illegal in many states. It doenst stop people from owning them. What it does do, is prevent the snake keeper from having a plan with the local hospital, ems, and police if he/she or some other unfortunate person gets bitten. Local police need to know what is in their neighborhood. They are the poor bastards who have to deal with it when things like this happen. I dont blame the police for the carnage. I know nothing about big cats or bears. If I were in their shoes, with the sun going down, I would have done the same thing. The loss of those endangered tigers would be worth it, if it saved the life of some small child who could have been killed by one of them.

I hope the guy didnt die right away from the gunshot. I hope he was awake when the tigers gnawed on his wound.

No matter what laws the governnment writes. Morons will be morons. If this guy had the money, regardless of a law, he would have had these animals. Vote for conservatives or libertarians. They are less likely to take freedom away.

Good point..
The thing is the ODNR had been to this residence and his neighbors befor so they DID know about his animals..

That was a good point ,,,,,the locals in every comunity who have these animals around DO know ,from the conty shrrif to the game warden ,,, in most cases these animals are bought @ a auction from some one who has raised them as pets and cant keep them any longer.

Most keep health records on their animals and almost evey veterinaryian in local comunities know about who has exotics as well.

I still think a lot of exotic animal owners are now going to get a bad rap .


The local game wardens know beleive me..

I agree with ya ,,,,,irresponcible people have neen the down fall of those who give the legitimate care to animals .


Just like pet stores .

There was a article not long ago about a LPS that was abusing dogs and other animals ..

I have to agree with the poster in one of the replies as well,, why would he have cut the pens open and not just unlocked the gates,, wouldnt it take longer to cut them one at a time then just open them ??

I dont know.. with some of the animal rights extreemist people the way they are it does bring up questions..


There use to be a TV show years ago called SAFARI staring clarence the cross eyed lion, it was filmed in Africa I beleive and was about a male lion and a refuge, they are pretty loyal from what I have been able to learn,,there is a documentary on TV that was called the pride I think.. a lady actualy was acepted by a pride of lions,, that had to be brave? that dont mean I would trust one though ,.

There was a fella not far from here that raised red wolves , they were huge dogs , but never botherd any one..

I have a good friend that had a male african lion. he also has a capuchin monkey. At one point he had a female mountain lion. He's really into exotics. This man loves his animals. He was hand feeding his lion at 7 years of again raw meat. That's unheard of. I think if you take care of them, and protect others around you the best you can, then keep the animals. A wild mountain lion can kill you just as fast as one in captivity. It's all in the cat.

they probably could have caught those animals, but there was an immediate threat to the public. If there was time to get the traps and set them up, then I'm sure they would have done it. I think they made the right call. It was all from someone that wasn't right in their mind. He obviously had something wrong with him. Killing himself and wanting others in danger is just crazy. period.

I hear ya .

I think if most people had a clue as to what wild animals lived around them they would be afraid to go out side!!!!

The locks were cut? I hope he wasnt murdered by some animal extremists.... That would change everything.

I dont know ,

I heard so many stories now its hard to know what realy happend..
First story I heard said the cages/pens had been cut open.

And the gates were opend??

then one said it looked as if he had been biten by a big cat in his head, never said if they knew if it was befor or after the animal release.

I cant imagine some one who was biten and bleeding running around and cutting open cages and not seeking medical help?

Let alone some one biten in the head by a big cat living long enough to do all this ??


One story said he was bitten after he had suppoosably killed him self??

I never heard for sure where his body was found, One article on the radio made it sound as if he was inside his home,, ?

Hard to beleive a apex predator would just bite somethng and then leave it when there were so many other cats running lose?

Like I said I am not a expert on cats but from everything I have been able to comprehend they would have hid his body for a later meal?


JMO.

Too many stories and I realy dont think they realy know.
Its a shame the govenor dont have a clue and is running aroud claiming this and that.

I have a good friend that had a male african lion. he also has a capuchin monkey. At one point he had a female mountain lion.

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I know how rumors are and how easy they can become way out of porportion so here is a easy question that I have no knowledge of...

Was talking to a close freind of myn who said they had heard one report,,, that several of these cats didnt leave the property and that some had even went back into their pens on their own,,,,and others would have .. sort of like they would have if it would have been a cave or den in the wild,,??

Not surprising, animals are often hesitant to wander into new territory.