"A swan found shot in Shrewsbury is recovering at the Cummings School for Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton. Leona Pease, Shrewsbury’s animal control officer, told The Worcester Telegram & Gazette that she found the swan Thursday on land near Lake Quinsigamond. She said the only visible injury was a cut on the head near the beak that had some bloodiness. But when the swan was X-rayed at Tufts, pellets were found in its neck. Pease said she has rescued several injured swans in the past few years but usually the problem was lead poisoning after eating fishing weights."
Also see: 17 calves, 5 cows die in barn fire
"Judge: Appeals court to decide fate of seized exotic animals" by John Seewer, Associated Press February 04, 2015
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Six tigers and five other exotic animals seized by the state from a sanctuary will remain in Ohio’s custody until a state appeals court weighs in on the case, a county judge decided Tuesday.
The judge, who initially ordered that the 11 animals be returned to their owner, agreed with lawyers for the state that jurisdiction in the case lies with an appeals court.
Ohio’s agriculture department removed the animals last week after denying the owner a permit to keep them. State inspectors said they were worried that the cages at the property near Toledo could allow some of the animals to escape.
That same day, Wood County Judge Reeve Kelsey ordered the state to return the tigers, a bear, a lion, a cougar, a black leopard, and a liger. The state formally appealed the order and won a stay last week.
Kelsey, in a brief hearing Tuesday, handed the case over to the appeals court after an attorney for the sanctuary’s owner did not object.
The animals were tranquilized and transported last week and are being housed in a high-security building just outside Columbus.
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"Ohio veteran fined for using therapy ducks" Associated Press February 06, 2015
COSHOCTON, Ohio — A former Ohio National Guardsman who says his pet ducks help relieve his posttraumatic stress disorder and depression is appealing his conviction for violating a village ban on such animals.
Darin Welker was convicted of a minor misdemeanor and fined $50 for keeping 14 ducks at his home in West Lafayette, 80 miles east of Columbus.
After giving some away, he has six birds with names like Clyde and Lucy. The appeal filed last month in Coshocton County court argues the ducks help maintain a calm environment and have been therapeutic for Welker, who served in Iraq and was medically discharged from the Guard.
The village contends Welker has not presented sufficient evidence that he has a medical need and would face imminent harm without the ducks.
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I guess they don't like animals in Ohio.
Related: Globe Creature Feature
I think I might watch a movie before going to bed.
