Sheriff angry animal slaughter photographed

[patric]

Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said he plans to serve more terms as sheriff, so he has plenty of time to find out who took and released the photo. 
The sheriff also told veterinarians on the scene with tranquilizer guns to not use them.
http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=103943429&date=10-19-2011&archiveAnchorId=141496789#archivestory141487295

http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20111021/NEWS01/110210325/Zanesville-animal-pursuit-over

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lions-tigers-shot-ohio-owner-freed-14775780?

[Red Arrow]

Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said he plans to serve more terms as sheriff, so he has plenty of time to find out who took and released the photo. 
The sheriff also told veterinarians on the scene with tranquilizer guns to not use them.

I trust Jack Hanna's judgement.

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2011/10/21/zanesville-jack-hanna-defends-exotic-animals-shootings.html

[dbacks fan]

I trust Jack Hanna's judgement.

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2011/10/21/zanesville-jack-hanna-defends-exotic-animals-shootings.html

I tend to agree as well with Hanna, but I think the greater tragedy was/is the lax laws that the state has in place for keeping exotic animals. You will never take the instinctive traits these animals are born with out of them.

[RecycleMichael]

I was in nearby Columbus when this happened. We were at the Ohio State student union and among a lot of kids watching local TV round-the-clock coverage. The reporters found an amazing number of people nearby who knew the guy and had been to the farm. Some of the live interviews with local bumpkins were hilarious.

[swake]

Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said he plans to serve more terms as sheriff, so he has plenty of time to find out who took and released the photo. 
The sheriff also told veterinarians on the scene with tranquilizer guns to not use them.
http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=103943429&date=10-19-2011&archiveAnchorId=141496789#archivestory141487295

http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20111021/NEWS01/110210325/Zanesville-animal-pursuit-over

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lions-tigers-shot-ohio-owner-freed-14775780?

There's a reason for that:

Hours after a suicidal man unleashed dozens of his exotic animals on Muskingum County, a veterinarian drew close to a 300-pound tiger and shot it in the neck with a tranquilizer dart.

The dart's anesthetic did nothing to subdue the big cat, which "just went crazy" before being shot to death by deputies, Sheriff Matt Lutz said.

"He sort of exploded," recalled Dr. Barbara Wolfe, director of wildlife and conservation medicine at the Wilds animal preserve southeast of Zanesville. "He roared, he got up, and he came straight for me."

The handlers who responded did not have even basic information about the freed animals, such as how much they weighed or when they last ate. Those factors and a long list of others are vital to safely anesthetize animals, the veterinarians said.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/10/20/tranquilizing-animals-complicated-perilous.html

[Red Arrow]

I tend to agree as well with Hanna, but I think the greater tragedy was/is the lax laws that the state has in place for keeping exotic animals. You will never take the instinctive traits these animals are born with out of them.

I have heard that Ohio is not the only state with lax laws on the subject.  One of the gating items is supposedly whether or not you are open to the public.

[patric]

The article made it sound like he intends to spend the remainder of his career tracking down and punishing someone who legally took a picture.
If so, I hope it's a short career.

[Gaspar]

I trust Jack Hanna's judgement.

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2011/10/21/zanesville-jack-hanna-defends-exotic-animals-shootings.html

Yeah, this could have been a very bad incident lasting weeks and resulting in the death of many people.

[carltonplace]

I agree with Gaspar, obviously the safety of the population was of paramount importance. It is a shame that these animals had to be shot, but the fault lies with the person that put them in this situation to start with.

[Conan71]

I agree with Gaspar, obviously the safety of the population was of paramount importance. It is a shame that these animals had to be shot, but the fault lies with the person that put them in this situation to start with.

And he is now "deader than fried chicken".

[dbacks fan]

And he is now "deader than fried chicken".

On Tuesday, Thompson, 62, threw open the cages at his animal preserve and committed suicide. His body was found near the empty cages with a bite on the head that appeared to have been inflicted by a big cat shortly after Thompson shot himself, Sheriff Matt Lutz said. It appeared his body had been dragged a short distance, Lutz said.

Helluva way to commit suicide, other than going head first into a tree chipper.

[carltonplace]

Helluva way to commit suicide, other than going head first into a tree chipper.

Or feet first into a pig stye

[patric]

A single bite might have been more of a grapple or maternal instinct to move/rescue it's owner, rather than maul him.
Had there been an attack there would have been much more damage than just one bite.