49 Dead In Ohio: A Needless Massacre

49 Dead in Ohio: A Needless Massacre

(In honor and remembrance of Zanesville’s fallen)

Three years ago, a massacre occurred in Zainesville, Ohio. 49 animals (18 Bengal tigers, 9 male lions, 8 female lions, 6 black bears, 3 mountain lions, 2 grizzly bears, 1 baboon,, and 2 wolves) were shot and killed by local authorities. This society, instead of taking responsibility, loves playing the blame game. But who do you point the finger at in this tragic case?

Swallowing my strong distaste for the police, I can’t really fault them for this exotic trade tragedy. It wasn’t as if they were facing a lone bear or mountain lion that had wandered into a residential area, which they could tranqulize and relocate to the wild. Before committing suicide, Terry Thompson had released almost 50 predators from his private zoo, predators that were dangerous to the citizens of the community, the police and each other. As much as it pains me to say it, the men in blue had to do what they did – there was no other alternative.

Then what about Terry himself? Should we use him as the prodigal escapegoat and place all this blood and needless death on his dead hands? That would be convienant wouldn’t it?

Not long after he graduated from high school, a draft blew into Zanesville, Ohio, swept Terry up and dropped him off in the sweltering jungles of Vietnam. Like many of his brothers who fought in that damn war, when terry came home he wasn’t the same. He had changed; he had become unbalanced. Some said he never left the killing fields.

Throughout the years, Terry had multiple run-ins with the law. He had numerous traffic violations, had been charged with domestic animal cruelty and was eventually sent to prison for possession of illegal firearms. A year before his incarceration, his wife had left him. Back in 1977, Terry had purchased his first exotic animal, a baby tiger, for his wife as a birthday present.

No one knows exactly why Terry took his own life and released those animals. Some said it was in retaliation against his neighbors for repeated calls to the authorities. Perhaps it was his wife leaving him? We can only speculate.

All I know is Terry wasn’t at fault for this slaughter. Nor, as previously stated, was the police.

We could and should place the fault of this massacre on the state of Ohio, specifically its government, which, at the time, didn’t have a single law in the books pertaining to keeping exotic animals as pets or in private zoos. Anyone could have a lion or tiger in their back yard, a cobra in their cupboard or an alligator in their bathtub.

According to bornfreeusa.org, 20 states have a ban on private ownership of exotic animals, 9 states have a partial ban, 12 states require you to purchase a license or permit and 9 states have no requirements whatsoever. This is a travesty.

The exotic wildlife trade is confiscating animals from their indigenous countries at an alarming rate. There will come a time, soon, I’m afraid, when locating an animal in it’s natural habitat will be a rarity. There are now more tigers living in the U.S. than there are in the wild worldwide. This has to stop NOW.

The only way this abysmal trade, a billion dollar illegal industry, can be squashed is if EVERY U.S. state places a ban on the private ownership of exotic wildlife. Sadly, I don’t think this will ever come to pass.

For those of you interested in learning more on this topic, I strongly encourage you to check out and support the nonprofit organization, Outreach for Animals at www.outreachforanimals,org or visit them on their Facebook page.

“You can buy a cobra, but you can’t buy common sense.”

Tim Harrison. Founder of Outreach for Animals

Credits:

hris Heath’s March 2012 GQ article,

Born Free USA

fox and Friends.