Photo Op or Death Wish?

[dalmorloson]

This happened about an hour's drive west of me. To go or not to go? Apparently this guy let all of his animals go and then took his own life.




ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) - Dozens of animals escaped Tuesday from a wild-animal preserve that houses bears, big cats and other beasts, and the owner later was found dead there, said police, who shot several of the animals and urged nearby residents to stay indoors.

The fences had been left unsecured at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, in east-central Ohio, and the animals' cages were open, police said. They wouldn't say what animals escaped but said the preserve had lions, wolves, tigers, giraffes, camels and bears. They said bears and wolves were among 25 animals that had been shot and killed and there were multiple sightings of exotic animals along a nearby highway.

"These are wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa," Sheriff Matt Lutz warned at a press conference.

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by dalmorloson

This happened about an hour's drive west of me. To go or not to go? Apparently this guy let all of his animals go and then took his own life.




ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) - Dozens of animals escaped Tuesday from a wild-animal preserve that houses bears, big cats and other beasts, and the owner later was found dead there, said police, who shot several of the animals and urged nearby residents to stay indoors.

The fences had been left unsecured at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, in east-central Ohio, and the animals' cages were open, police said. They wouldn't say what animals escaped but said the preserve had lions, wolves, tigers, giraffes, camels and bears. They said bears and wolves were among 25 animals that had been shot and killed and there were multiple sightings of exotic animals along a nearby highway.

"These are wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa," Sheriff Matt Lutz warned at a press conference.

The latest press conference an hour or so ago said the only things on the loose right now were a wolf and a monkey (which they say has Hep B)... everything else has been hunted down and shot. They're in the process of hunting down the last two animals.

I'd say it would be a colossal waste of time.

[RLucas]

I heard about this earlier today. Pretty sad really. It's one thing to think of taking your own life, but putting other people in danger while doing so is a whole new realm of disrespect if you ask me. I feel really bad for the animals too. They didn't ask for this. This is just way too much suck to go around.

[dlambert]

Yeah, too late. All the damage is done. Besides, it was a lousy day for photography. I think the Wilds would be a better bet if you want some decent photos.

[mosgood]

Originally Posted by RLucas

I heard about this earlier today. Pretty sad really. It's one thing to think of taking your own life, but putting other people in danger while doing so is a whole new realm of disrespect if you ask me. I feel really bad for the animals too. They didn't ask for this. This is just way too much suck to go around.

I totally agree with you Luke. What a horrible thing to do...to put other people at risk & cost these poor animals their lives. He should have just called someone to inform them the animals would need new homes, left in their cages for the right people to come & collect, & taken only his own life.

Way, way too much suck!

[dlambert]

I've been hearing about this Tool for the last 18 hours or so. It's really great to see Ohio get into the national spotlight for something positive, though... sigh. Scariest use of the phrase "shoot to kill" I've heard in a long time. I wonder how may people lost dogs today ("Oh, sorry -- it looked like a wolf, so I shot it..."). Apparently, they actually had people trying to steal the carcasses, too. Classy. Really classy. Ugghh.

[RLucas]

As close as he was to the Columbus Zoo makes it even worse in my opinion. From what I saw, Jack Hannah was so shook up he could hardly talk. I just got caught up on the news. I didn't realize how many animals there were. Very sad indeed.

[Krusty79]

Originally Posted by RLucas

As close as he was to the Columbus Zoo makes it even worse in my opinion. From what I saw, Jack Hannah was so shook up he could hardly talk. I just got caught up on the news. I didn't realize how many animals there were. Very sad indeed.

WTF? If he loved those animals, why did he let them loose when he knows the police are going to shoot them? He must have lost his mind.

Jack Hannah said there are only about 1800 Bengal tigers left in the wild. This guy released all 18 of his Bengal tigers and they all had to be shot. So, the equivalent of 1% of the world's Bengal tigers are gone in one day (not counting zoo animals). WTF?

[Bruce A]

This is really sad - for all those poor animals and for the owner who obviously had some deep problems. It was unfortunate they had to be shot, but waiting around for tranquillizer guns could have resulted in the loss of more human life. A real pity!