Ohio Animal Extravaganza

Everyone is apparently taking sides on the whole shebang in Ohio. If you haven't heard about it, where have you been? But seriously, it's getting sort of crazy.

Here's my two cents:

1. The fact that the outside cages were all open, but there were still, apparently, monkeys and or chimps caged inside the house, doesn't add up to suicide, to me.

2. The fact that a bunch of the animals were still within 500yds of their cages when the police arrived, really doesn't add up. Seems to me if the animals were outside the cages when the gunshot went off, they'd be gone. Also seems to me that if the cage doors were opened after the big loud noise, caution about the big loud noise might keep them slinking about long enough to realize that the guy with the food had become the food.

3. As for all of the welfare checks and cruelty to animals calls... nowhere I've seen has reported any action taken on the part of law enforcement or animal control. Knowing what I know about the way those calls work... if someone calls it in, they have to investigate, which means a report has to be filed on the incident. Therefore it's entirely possible, lacking any information about specific charges and or actions taken against the owner- which, by the way, I think the media would be all over if they had any indication of it- it's entirely possible that those calls were, at best, just overenthusiastic animal lovers, and at worst, some jerkoff with a beef causing problems.

4. At least one story said that his neighbors brought him carrion and dead cattle to feed the carnivores. If the neighbors had a serious beef with this guy, they would not be helping him feed his animals.

I just think it's all sort of fishy, for various reasons. The guy wasn't a saint, I wouldn't have been happy about the size of the pens, for instance, if I was in charge, but there aren't any real indications that he was evil or cruel, either. I'd like to see more investigation done on this but local law enforcement there have already declared it suicide, so it probably won't be done.

It sucks that most of the animals were killed, but one story I read had a comment from a zoo worker who tranqed a tiger which subsequently had to be shot by deputies as it charged her, before the tranquilizers could kick in. Situations like that, yes, you get dead critters. Sucks, but frankly better a tiger than a human trying to help.

There. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves in comments.