Ohio Animals Returned to Their Cages

"Woman seeks return of exotic animals" Associated Press, April 28, 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An attorney for a suicidal animal owner’s widow who is seeking the return of exotic animals that survived an October release said she has adequate cages for them at her eastern Ohio farm, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.  

Related: Ohio man traded guns to build his collection of wild animals

Three leopards, two primates, and a bear survived the release of dozens of wild creatures in Zanesville. They have been under a state-issued quarantine at the Columbus Zoo. One leopard was euthanized after it was struck by a door at the zoo.

Attorney Robert McClelland wrote to Ohio officials last week for client Marian Thompson.

The state’s agriculture director told him earlier this month that the Ohio Department of Agriculture required proof of the arrangements Thompson has made for the animals’ confinement and care. The department has scheduled an administrative hearing for Monda.

Thompson’s husband, Terry, freed bears, lions, endangered Bengal tigers, and other animals on Oct. 18 before killing himself. Authorities shot 48 of the creatures.

McClelland told an agriculture department attorney in a letter dated April 18 that the animals now held by the zoo were not harmed in the October release because they were in proper cages.

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"WILD ANIMALS BACK ON THE FARM -- Five surviving exotic animals -- a bear, two leopards, and two primates -- were returned Friday to a woman whose husband released 56 of them in October before he committed suicide. The animals had been held at the Columbus Zoo after Ohio officials ordered them quarantined on suspicion of infectious diseases. Marian Thompson of Zanesville appealed the order, and was allowed to take the animals (Boston Globe May 5 2012)."

 "Push for animal-abuser registries grows" Bloomberg News, April 30, 2012

LANSING, Mich. - Those who batter, abuse, or kill dogs and cats would get the same public scorn as sex offenders in bills introduced in legislatures throughout the United States.

Online registries for convicted animal abusers already have been approved in three New York counties, including Suffolk, where the nation’s first takes effect May 7.

Twenty-five states have considered such laws since 2010, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which is leading the campaign.

Backers say the bills recognize a growing awareness of animal rights - and the public-safety benefits of stopping abusers, who studies show often go on to harm humans....   

See: Boston Globe Bullies Mitt Romney

Yeah, we don't need any more potential mass-murdering torturers becoming president. 

The animal-abuse idea is an outgrowth of registries for sex offenders begun by states in 1996 under order of Congress. The initiative is not uniformly supported by animal-rights organizations.

Tracking abuse in FBI data would do more to prevent it, Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, wrote in a December 2010 blog post. Many people convicted of neglect are mentally ill, he said.

“Shaming them with a public Internet profile is unlikely to affect their future behavior,’’ Pacelle wrote, “except perhaps to isolate them further from society and promote increased distrust of authority figures trying to help them.’’

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals supports registries, said Stephanie Bell, associate director of cruelty investigations.

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