Ohio's Tragedy
Sad, but unsurprising, news today.
It was announced today that a spotted
leopard was euthanized at the Columbus Zoo today. The leopard was one of 56 wild
animals that Terry Thompson, a Zanesville man, was keeping at his home, and
which he released in October 2011, shortly before killing himself. The police
and other law enforcement officials killed 49 of the animals, including many
rare and endangered animals, and were able to catch six animals alive,
including three leopards, a bear and two macaques. Those animals were brought
to the zoo, where the leopard died today, after damaging his spinal cord when
he was hit by a door.
Ohio is one of only seven states that does
not ban or restrict the private ownership of wild animals like bears, tigers and
leopards, so this horrific event spurred a number of state proposals to bring
Ohio into line with most of the states in prohibiting individuals from owning
animals like these. In the meantime, Thompson’s widow has been trying to get
the remaining animals back, even though many of the animals had been neglected
and suffered signs of abuse; the leopard, for example, had old injuries
including broken bones in his back and tail.
Besides the pending legislation in Ohio, there
are two proposed federal laws which could keep tragedies like this one from
happening again; unfortunately, they are focused only on two types of animals—snakes
and primates—rather than wild or exotic animals as a whole. Even then, exotic
animal breeders and dealers are fighting any attempt to restrict how they make
a living; as always, the demand for profit overrides the concerns for animal
protection and even human safety.
Let’s hope that Ohio will strengthen its
own animal protection laws in the wake of this tragedy, and that eventually the
United States will come to its senses and ban the private ownership of all
exotic animals.
Margo DeMello
Published by admin on 01/31/2012 16:09:16
