ZANESVILLE, Ohio -- Schools closed and motorists were warned to stay in their vehicles as officers with assault rifles patrolled a rural area in eastern Ohio Wednesday, a day after police killed dozens of escaped animals from a wild-animal preserve, where the owner was found dead.
When asked on NBC's "Today" show whether Muskingum County Animal Farm owner Terry Thompson may have killed himself, county Sheriff Matt Lutz responded, "Anything's a possibility at this point." He said authorities were awaiting autopsy results. Lutz had said earlier that the death was not suspicious.
As authorities warned that more animals still were on the loose, three school districts in the region and some private and special schools canceled classes as the remaining bears, big cats and other beasts from the Muskingum County Animal Farm were hunted down.
Flashing signs along area highways told motorists, "Caution exotic animals" and "Stay in vehicle."
The animals' cages had been opened and the farm's fences had been left unsecured, police said. It was "very possible" that Thompson left the cages open, Lutz said.
Close to 30 of the 48 animals were shot and killed on Tuesday. Officials were pondering how to dispose of the remains.
"Once daybreak hits here, we're going back in to get an accountability of how many animals have been put down, how many animals are still penned up," the sheriff told NBC.
The preserve in Zanesville, about 55 miles east of Columbus, had lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears. Police said bears and wolves were among the escaped animals that were killed and there were multiple sightings of exotic animals along a nearby highway.
Lutz called the animals "mature, very big, aggressive" but said a caretaker told authorities the animals had been fed on Monday.
Tuesday night, more than 50 law enforcement officials – including sheriff's deputies, highway patrol officers, police officers and officers from the state Division of Wildlife – patrolled the 40-acre farm and the surrounding areas in cars and trucks, often in rainy downpours. Lutz said they were concerned about big cats and bears hiding in the dark and in trees.
Neighbor Danielle White, whose father's property abuts the animal preserve, said she didn't see loose animals this time but did in 2006, when a lion escaped.
"It's always been a fear of mine knowing (the preserve's owner) had all those animals," she said. "I have kids. I've heard a male lion roar all night."
"This is a bad situation," Lutz said. "It's been a situation for a long time."
Lutz said his office started getting phone calls at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday that wild animals were loose just west of Zanesville on a road that runs under Interstate 70.
He said four deputies with assault rifles in a pickup truck went to the animal farm, where they found the owner Thompson dead and all the animal cage doors open.
He wouldn't say how Thompson died but said several aggressive animals were near his body when deputies arrived and had to be shot.
Thompson, who lived on the property, had orangutans and chimps in his home, but those were still in their cages, Lutz said.
The deputies, who saw many other animals standing outside their cages and others that had escaped past the fencing surrounding the property, began shooting them on sight.
Staffers from the Columbus Zoo went to the scene, hoping to tranquilize and capture the animals after daybreak Wednesday. The zoo's director emeritus, TV host Jack Hanna, said that was something that could not be done in the dark.
"You cannot tranquilize an animal like this, a bear or a leopard or a tiger (at nighttime)," Hanna told ABC's "Good Morning America on Wednesday. "If you do that, the animal gets very excited, it goes and hides, and then we have his (Lutz's) officer in danger of losing their life, and other people."
Lutz said his main concern was protecting the public in the rural area, where homes sit on large lots of sometimes 10 acres.
White, the preserve's neighbor, said Thompson had been in legal trouble, and police said he had gotten out of jail recently.
"He was in hot water because of the animals, because of permits, and (the animals) escaping all the time," White said. A few weeks ago, she said, she had to avoid some camels which were grazing on the side of a freeway.
At a nearby Moose Lodge, Bill Weiser remembered Thompson as an interesting character who flew planes, raced boats and owned a custom motorcycle shop that also sold guns.
"He was pretty unique," Weiser said. "He had a different slant on things. I never knew him to hurt anybody, and he took good care of the animals."
Weiser said he regretted that the escaped animals had to be killed. "It's breaking my heart, them shooting those animals," he said.
Bailey Hartman, 20, a night manager at McDonald, also said it saddened her that the animals were being shot. But, she said, "I was kind of scared coming in to work."
Hartman said Thompson's wife, who no longer lives with him, was her teacher in middle school and used to bring small animals such as a monkeys, snakes and owls to school. "It was a once-a-year type of thing, and everyone would always get excited," she recalled.
Thompson had permits to keep four black bears, said Laura Jones, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The department licenses only native species, Jones said Wednesday.
Ohio has some of the nation's weakest restrictions on exotic pets and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them.
In the summer of 2010, an animal caretaker was killed by a bear at a property in Cleveland. The caretaker had opened the bear's cage at exotic-animal keeper Sam Mazzola's property for a routine feeding.
Though animal-welfare activists had wanted Mazzola charged with reckless homicide, the caretaker's death was ruled a workplace accident. The bear was later destroyed.
This summer, Mazzola was found dead on a water bed, wearing a mask and with his arms and legs restrained, at his home in Columbia Township, about 15 miles southwest of Cleveland.
It was unclear how many animals remained on the property when he died, but he had said in a bankruptcy filing in May 2010 that he owned four tigers, a lion, eight bears and 12 wolves. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had revoked his license to exhibit animals after animal-welfare activists campaigned for him to stop letting people wrestle with another one of his bears.
Mazzola had permits for nine bears for 2010, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said. The state requires permits for bears but doesn't regulate the ownership of nonnative animals, such as lions and tigers.
The Humane Society of the United States on Wednesday urged Ohio to immediately issue emergency restrictions on the sale and possession of dangerous wild animals. "
"How many incidents must we catalogue before the state takes action to crack down on private ownership of dangerous exotic animals," Humane Society Wayne Pacelle said in a statement.
What's on your mind? Despite of the ill decision that the owner made of keeping those wild animals, I am upset that he was killed. That was a hard lesson learned in loving animals too much. As far as the residents in that area, stay safe until this matter ends.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Palermo man flees troopers arresting him on animal cruelty charge
Palermo, NY – A Palermo man who is awaiting sentencing for obstructing governmental administration faces new charges of animal cruelty, resisting arrest and endangering the welfare of a child charges, state police said.
Troopers said a German shepherd owned by Steven D. Burdick, 45, of 4102 state Route 3, had been hit by a car Thursday evening. Burdick, who had been told about the accident, left the dog under a tree in his yard for about 22 hours without providing veterinary care, troopers said. Burdick claims the dog was on his porch, not outside.
When troopers told Burdick he was under arrest for animal cruelty, he picked up his 3-year-old son and ran, troopers said. They quickly caught him and the child was uninjured, troopers said.
The dog was taken to a clinic, which found it had a fractured pelvis and was unable to walk, troopers said. It is expected to survive.
Burdick was issued an appearance ticket to answer the charges, all misdemeanors. He is to appear in Palermo town court on Oct. 24.
That also is the day he is scheduled to be sentenced for obstruction of governmental administration, a misdemeanor, having an uninspected car and failure to present a vehicle registration, vehicle-traffic code violations, following his conviction in August by a West Monroe town court jury. He faces up to a year in jail.
In that case, Burdick was arrested at a traffic checkpoint in Central Square in November 2009. Burdick refused to get out of his car and used his then- 18-month-old child as a human shield as he argued with a deputy.
The jury acquitted him of endangering the welfare of a child.
Related topics: Editors' Picks, Steven Burdick
What's on your mind?
Troopers said a German shepherd owned by Steven D. Burdick, 45, of 4102 state Route 3, had been hit by a car Thursday evening. Burdick, who had been told about the accident, left the dog under a tree in his yard for about 22 hours without providing veterinary care, troopers said. Burdick claims the dog was on his porch, not outside.
When troopers told Burdick he was under arrest for animal cruelty, he picked up his 3-year-old son and ran, troopers said. They quickly caught him and the child was uninjured, troopers said.
The dog was taken to a clinic, which found it had a fractured pelvis and was unable to walk, troopers said. It is expected to survive.
Burdick was issued an appearance ticket to answer the charges, all misdemeanors. He is to appear in Palermo town court on Oct. 24.
That also is the day he is scheduled to be sentenced for obstruction of governmental administration, a misdemeanor, having an uninspected car and failure to present a vehicle registration, vehicle-traffic code violations, following his conviction in August by a West Monroe town court jury. He faces up to a year in jail.
In that case, Burdick was arrested at a traffic checkpoint in Central Square in November 2009. Burdick refused to get out of his car and used his then- 18-month-old child as a human shield as he argued with a deputy.
The jury acquitted him of endangering the welfare of a child.
Related topics: Editors' Picks, Steven Burdick
What's on your mind?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
R.I.P. Coco on 12/30/2010
Dear Coco,
I remember when I first saw you. You were at the DC Animal Shelter and I was working the second shift. You were so fiesty & didn't like anyone but me. Your owner was elderly & couldn't take care of you anymore due to immobility from old age. You didn't trust anyone but for some reason you liked me. Michelle (groomer & over night caretaker at the time) told me that you were in between the puppy area & quarantine area where alot of pitbulls were at time. How you slipped through the gate was beyond me! Taking a risk of being scared from pitbulls barking at you was very bold. You didn't care because you were trying to get to me. I had you at the front desk to keep me company at night. Someone was about to adopt you but they had a change of heart. I had to ask my older sister Tonya if I could adopt you because you were an older dog & was being considered for the upper room (being put to sleep due to space). After begging Tonya to adopt you because I lived with her, she found it in her heart to say yes. I was so happy to have you as my baby! We had something in common: we love hard. We had some great times & I'm heart broken that you are gone now. I'm happy though because you are in a better place now (yes I believe that animals go to heaven). When I adopted you I was told that you were 7 years old. After going to the vet, it turned out that you were 10 years old but that didn't matter to me. You were so cute, loving, loyal and a joy to have as a part of my family!! I love you Coco & I will definitely see you later in heaven, I'm hurt that you are gone & I will never get used to you not being around. Rest in peace & mommy loves you!! My family, friends, Streets & Lexi will definitely miss you too! You are highly loved & will NEVER be forgotten!!
Your Mommy,
Kisha :-)
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