Jack Hanna on Zanesville, Ohio, Animals: ‘We Would Have Had Carnage’

Killed for no reason? Killing wild animals to protect human life is no reason? Did you rush to Ohio to put food out for the lions? It’s unfortunate that any animals had to be put down, but it’s good that the Sheriff did what had to be done to protect the people he is sworn to protect.

The State of Ohio has persistently refused to regulate the trafficking of exotic animals. This senseless tragedy is the result of bad, bad policy. Animal lovers have been begging the state to shut down places like this for years; and this is why-the owners of these places are irresponsible. As to the feasibility of capturing the animals alive; I do not know; this is not my expertise. But allowing private ownership of dangerous animals is just flat out stupid and needs to stop.

Kevin and Yesnia, I stand by what I wrote, they killed every animal and did not try to save them. I have news for you; your kids are in more danger by the local jerks with pit bulls than these animals would be. Two pits killed a horse in my area yesterday, look it up in Ga.. Why don’t I go feed them, how trite except I am nine hundred miles away. I think your posts are written by folks who work for the great white hunter, trust me they have drugs to knock these animals down faster than your misplaced trust in the dumbest sheriff in the U.S.

Did anyone think to blame the knucklehead cause the whole problem? Blaming the police for dealing with this horrible problem is so typical.

I have been involved with animal rescue for many years. I am a very responsible cat/dog/horse owner and hunter and have seen these kind of situations in the past and present. We have NO right to have exotics in these stupid so called sanctuaries. There are some people that do get it, but some are either looking for a farm exemption tax reduction, like to say they own exotics, or my worst fear- have these beautiful animals for the dumba** wannabe hunters for the so called exotic animal hunts. Heres is what I say tough guys-go into the Everglades without your big boy toys that can kill at 1000 yards and see how you can hang in the wild with gators, moccasins and wild boar, with the swamp. Who is the hunter now? The real hunters down there respect the wildlife, hunt for food and a living. PS- how about the idiots that have released all of the non-indigenous boas, pythons down south?? They are totally destroying the eco-culture in the South Florida region. Also, the Asian Carp are also destroying the Great Lakes up in the IL/WI/MI area and the DNS and government are sitting on their hands, fighting over the electric fence in the Chicago basin. Another way of life/living soon to be destroyed. Sad to to tell the grandkids how it use to be–

Jack Hanna is a good man, but I too disagree that all of these animals needed to be murdered by the police. it does look like many of the animals were still on the property and there was a fence and a gate…It was a horrible situation that these people were not capable of handling except with their weapons. Since this farm had problems before, one would think that the police would be more prepared with dart guns in their arsenal – knowing that the state wasn’t going to tighten the law on keeping exotic pets. (And this is not the only place in Ohio where wild animals are kept.)it’s done now and can’t be fixed. The one thing that continues to bother me is how the sheriff is so proud of killing most of these beautiful creatures. I wish he had taken his ego down a few notches to comment on what a sad and senseless situation occurred. At least Jack Hanna did.

It is truly a tragedy. First, a suicide hurts so many people left behind, second, these animals didn’t “deserve” to die. I have to believe quick and necessary action occurred to keep a situation from turning into a truly horrific outcome. I hate the fact that these treasured animals were in this situation, but it had to be pure chaos. Drop anyone into that warzone of wild animals and I’m sure that self-preservation would kick-in, along with the concerns for the harm of innocent citizens. I would think the potention for the predators to go into a feeding frenzy on the non-predators and humans alike would make the non-predators collateral damage. Who is to say the non-predators would not been life-threatening due to being in a state of panic. No one is happy, but this is where this episode ends and hopefully saner laws will be enacted regarding harboring exotic animals.

The animals had to be killed, there was really no choice. I am all for animal rights and have fostered many animals who would have been killed by shelters, but there is only ONE person to blame for this, the man who was SO COWARDLY not only to take his own life, but seal a death warrant for the animals by “setting them free”. There are way too many cases of people who decide on suicide, but then decide that they are way too “important” to go alone. Scum of the earth.

Carnage!!! What happened today Jack. Who has paid you off? Necessary? You tranquilize a Bengal and the animal runs for the woods and an officer has to “put him down” Why don’t you use the right terms… “executed him”. At least be honest. Did the animals carry assault rifles with night vision? Screw you Jack Hanna you lost your rep and credibility today!

They did what they thought they had to do with the tools they had at the time. Kudos to them for getting through this with no human casualties!

They’re pretty zany over there in Zanesville.

Jack Hanna has really hurt his credibility today. Very insincere about the death of those rare endangered tigers. An “expert” would be talking about regulation for breeding and selling exotics not defending the horrible actions of these cops. Sorry they are wrong and the fact Hanna is trying to make excuses for it. makes it even more grotesque.

If she is still listed as the owner of that property, I hope she sues for any animal that was killed on her land.

I pretty much lost all respect for Jack Hanna when he defended Governor Kasich and his GOP controlled state administration when they decided to not follow through with the previous governor’s moves toward regulations in Ohio on exotic animal ownership. They let regulation expire because “it was bad for small business”??? Give me a break. Mr. Hanna, working to resolve the lack of control in Ohio after the fact will not bring back the eighteen Bengal Tigers or any of the other lost animals. You should be fighting to stop deregulation when it comes to animal ownership NOT DEFENDING those that risk the lives of animals you love as well as the human population. Your politics showed tonight on television Mr. Hanna and I don’t think it will be good for your career.

To Patricia- I’m not writing a paper, that would be Marcus who posted after me. Just saying……If they didn’t handle the situation quickly to ensure the public’s safety and one person was harmed, then they’d have been wrong for that. They harm animals that are wild, then they’re wrong for that. Seems theyr’e in a bind either way. If it were me I’d sleep better knowing that no citizens lost their lives and no funerals have to be planned tomorrow.

I agree with your comment Dan, part of the regulation Gov Kasich decided not to sign included people with past animal cruelty charges couldn’t keep exotics. That means these animals would have been removed and saved if he had signed. Hanna’s choice to defend this is unconscionable.

What happened is truly sad. The animals didn’t deserve to die, however if I’m gonna choose between a human life and an animal life, human wins this one. Anyone who thinks otherwise is absolutely insane. Would it have been nice to try to find a different way for the animals? Yes. But as far as we know, no one other than the man who caused this to happen, died. And that’s what important. The animals are secondary.

I would say we did have carnage in Zanesville jacko

Have they never heard of tranquilizer darts? This is an outrage! Not only did the animals suffer from a despicable owner, the idiot cops had to murder every one of them!

newcountryman – isn’t it interesting that “liberal wild animal laws in Ohio” means the deliberate elimination of regulation by a “conservative” state government?

The authorities admitted today that they have been called to Thompson’s 36 times in 7 years. 36 times in 7 years….. so why did this “carnage” have to happen again? 36 times in 7 years. Tell me please why Thompson still had the animals? 36 times in 7 years. God have mercy. This was so preventable.

Answering “Heather” above (9:43 pm):
Q. Why did you have to drive and waste so much time?
A. Jack Hanna’s post is the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo. Columbus is about an hour of driving, by freeway, from Zanesville. Much less, if you get a police escort!
Q. You could of flown on cargo plane with your equiptment and other zoo officals. (Translation: You could have flown on a cargo plane with your equipment and other zoo officials.)
A. Air transportation takes time as well. Even if the plane is sitting waiting at the airport for you, fueled up with flight plan filed, pilot onboard, you still have to drive all your junk to the airport and load the plane. Then, once you reach Zanesville, or whatever airstrip is closest to the scene of the emergency, you have to unload the plane and move everything to some kind of land transportation to get you to where you need to be. Are we really saving time?
Q. The goverment officals could of arranged this since this was a endangerment to the public and the rare animals. (Translation: The government officials could have arranged this since this was an endangerment to the public and to the rare animals.)
A. We do not know that the police and zoo did not discuss what would be the fastest and most efficient mode of getting expert help to where it was needed. I find it hard to believe that anybody would have been goldbricking in such a crisis. Too much adrenaline.
Q. This was a senceless slaughter…. (Translation: This was a senseless slaughter….)
A. This was a sickening slaughter. Whether or not it was senseless, I will leave for the people there to determine. Crossing paths with a deer herd or a family of skunks, or having to haul a snapping turtle back to the pond when it’s trying to lay eggs on my tulips, is one thing — HOWEVER, it has been two-and-a-half years since a black panther was roaming around where I work, and that is still a major attitude adjuster.

I apologize. I misread the format here. A few minutes ago I submitted a comment that was in response to Mary Kay at 9:45pm, not Heather at 9:43pm (as I stated). Bad me. The rest of the comment stands … until I find another goof.

Why is everyone slamming Jack Hanna????? im sure it was a gut wrenching decision to make, but they had to make a decision to save human lives. He loves animals…..could well be the worst decision he’s ever had to make. Blame the man who did this. Oh, that’s right, we can’t because he is no longer on this earth. So we lay it all on Jack, or the sheriff dept, just to have someone to blame.
and the reasoning behind not using the tranquilizer was already discussed.

What a tragedy ! Inocent animals lived in a prison most there lives didnt know anything else then they get shot . Ohio needs to change there laws so no one can own a exotic animal in there homes.

Zanesville authorities reported today that they had been to Thompson’s 36 times in 7 years. 36 complaints/calls/whatever in 7 years … that averages about a call every other month. Someone tell me again why this had to happen? 36 times in 7 years. I could not believe my ears …. 36 times in 7 years and this happens? Why wasn’t he shut down? Why? 36 times in 7 years.

They should of done something else. They shouldnt of killed all those poor animals. they just didnt even go that far from the property.

You know… I love animals. They’re unconditional love is amazing. I love to see them free & running wild. However, there was entirely too much at risk today. Jack Hannah and the LE are not to blame in this. They were forced to make a quick decision that ended up with no loss of human life. How could we ever justify to a parent of a young child, who may have been killed today, “Sorry lady. We didn’t want to harm the tiger and now your child is gone”? We can’t…So the the lesser of two evils was decided upon and as much as I hate what happened today… it had to be done. I don’t fault the ones who had to make that tough decision… I fault the one who made them face it. Their blood is on his hands as well.

disrepsect the man the let his precious animals loose not the pd you where trying to protect you.

I think it’s easy to be an arm-chair-quarterback. When you find yourself in that situation, then you can judge what they did. As someone else said, they did the best they could with the tools they had available. I won’t kill a fly but I can’t fault them for what they did. It is heartbreaking. I agree that the real blame belongs to the couple who caused this whole mess in the first place. Tragedy all around…

Thank you Zanesville Sheriff Dept for protecting us!

First of all, even thinking of yelling at the wife of Terry Thompson is NOT the way to settle such matters. Our country has always had small private animal collections and roadside collections. What is crucial is that such exotic animal owners should have access to an emergency number when a crisis arises….and a emergency response teams should be in place…..plus all such exotics in private collections should be examined by Jack Hanna and/or Jane Goodall, or the breeding zoos here in the states, to make sure such exotics are in good health; plus, some of their genetic, reproductive material samples (sperm, eggs) should be required to be harvested as well, and kept frozen, or immediately used in surrogate mothers, for a variety of reasons…..to keep viable samples of the gene-pools of each species,……but esp. to protect the species in case of an unexpected epidemic or some other unexpected disaster (such as that in Ohio). It is a good thing, in a unusual odd way for sure, that certain rare exotics are scattered about the planet, ……for if they were all kept together and something disastrous happened they would all be wiped out at once. The loss of the exotics in Ohio is horrible, but it is an important lesson as to over-sight and communication and planning for husbandry requirements, so these magnificent animals don’t go extinct ever.

some of u people are straight up idiots!! loose full grown wild animals in a city, where families live. any word in there u dont understand?? they did what they had to do in order to avoid human casulties. reading some of u people post gets under my skin. u feel these people should of sat down, plan better way to catch predators while they are roaming thru town? get real, come back from ur fantasy land cause they did the only thing they could do, protect man kind. u wasnt there, ur kids wasnt in danger so back off with these ignorant comments cause alot of u sound very stupid. i feel bad for the animals but would u rather hear about kids and families being killed by loose wild animals?? the blame is on the guy who released them, and the idiots who let him keep those kinda animals on his farm. wake up people.

This is ridiculous, Zanesville is not very far from me and something like this just makes me sad and scared. The man that owned these animals and let them out should be the one persicuted here. Jack Hanna and the PD should be commeneded for their efforts in saving the people. No where does it say that they killed the Giraffes, it does in fact say that they transported 6 animals to the Columbus Zoo!!!!!

Alexa – I fully agree with your post. The first step is replace the worthless state legislature with people that are as concerned with public safety as they are with their political contributors profit margins.

It is a tragedy, I mean how many homeless people could have been fed today??

It just broke my heart to see all of those animals laying there dead. Especially the tigers. Their already an endangered species. To see the picture the first time was bad enough, but when it was shown a second time I turned away with tears in my eyes. Something needs to be done to prevent people from being able to even get such animals. How was this person able to get that many animals and why were they even still there if he was in prison.

What HUMAN LIVES ?????…The main one was dead already…HE needed to be eaten.

These were animals who depended on humans to feed them and had known an enclosure and they were hanging around it, after having their cages left open. PLEASE……give us smart people a break…they just wanted back in, food and hay.

How many of the so called SO COPS were……BIG TIME HUNTERS….OFF THE JOB….now they got permission to do it legally. Bet that will look good on the OBAMA JOBS RESUME!!!!!!

It’s very easy to say “do this, do that’..but the fact is, only the people at the site were actually able to decide what needed to be done. It’s easy to say, to recage the animals..but how do you recage one, while fending off 10, and trying to keep them all on the property. People who do not work with large exotics have no comprehension of their power, speed, and capability. Hanna and the police made a determination of what needed to be done, before the animals scattered in all directions, and ate a child or caused a traffic accident. The actual issue is, why in the heck does Ohio have such a weak exotic animal law? The nut that owned these animals had been convicted of transgressions and abuse several times. At the very first threat that he would let these animals loose, the authorities should have taken him down, and removed the animals to good, secure sanctuaries. As usual, government has failed the people AGAIN, by sitting on their hands and not implimenting laws, and having on hand the proper equipment to deal with such an emergency. How tragic that all these animals have died. But man as a species is as savage and stupid as species’ go..it won’t be long before everything is extinct but us. Then we’ll be driven to eat each other, as the world runs out of food, but continues to try to support billions of people who just don’t seem to ‘get it’. What is really needed is for US to stop breeding like a rampant, runaway virus. That’s ok..Mother Earth will shake us off like a virus..and finally there will be peace.

I could see if they TRIED too tranquilize the ones out in public and they wouldnt go down THEN they wouldnt have a choice but tooo shoot and kill BUT COME ON the ones that were ON THE PROPERTY and tryin too get back in the cages….they could of tried ALOT harder then they did they were just too lazy too take the time to do it….and as far as the ones running wild in public if they ordered you too stay IN YOUR HOMES n schools were closed then there was NO REASON too shoot and kill

Hmmm, while most of you seem to have lost respect for Hanna I have lost respect for you. Most of you are nuts. These are not kitty cats. We’re lucky nobody got killed. It’s insane to rant on Hanna or the police like most of you are doing. For starters who is the expert with these animals – you or Hanna? That’s your clue you’re talking out of your rear ends. It’s absurd to expect police officers to overnight become some special wild game hunters with dart guns. The articles have spoken on how they tried that and it didn’t work, but you still rant. Blame the idiot that owned the animals and lax animal laws. Stop letting your police hate get in the way of any reason.

I live near Zanesville and am thankful that we are still alive. These are animals, not people. The last time I checked, people are more important than animals. Animals are what keep us alive, aka, COWS for beef, PIGS for Pork Chops, CHICKENS, DEER for venison. Please stop making this an issue of “killing unarmed animals”. Jack Hanna has dedicated his life to animals, Mr. Thompson, obviously loved animals, but this isn’t about the animals being killed. This was totally about the safety of HUMANS. WAY TO GO Muskingum County Sheriff’s Department!!!

Why don’t the Zanesville cops and sheriffs release the GPS coordinates of executed animals so we we know where they were REALLY killed?

Jack Hanna knows little or nothing about animals in the first place. If we’re looking to him for the why on this incident we’re looking in the wrong place. The man is a mindless prop for the zoo he works for and his actual knowledge of animals is embarrassing, considering it is his primary career.

This is so wrong what OHIO has done some one should have stopped this, if they could shoot them they could have hit them with a trank as well. This outrageous and I am so disgusted with what has happened! Those are beautiful creatures that did not deserve this, some one needs to protest this! O and hanna you are no longer respected in my house hold!

Who made the call to kill the animals? Sounds like chicken little to me, but there is a lot of that going on.
Or is it a hero complex? Wow if we didn’t shoot all those animals , that were still fenced in, then we would have had massive human life loss. I was not there , but I do not believe they spent anytime using their brains , why would they with all the “big furry targets” available. Did any of these animals attempt to attack a human? Maybe they tried to rob the speedy mart or maybe they were planning on taking a bus full of students hostage. We may never know.

You guys are blaming Jack Hanna for this? Really? Some of you people need to get a damn grip and really evaluate the disgusting things you’re saying, because you apparently don’t have any common sense.

So you’re going to sit there, safe behind your computer screens, and try to tell me that, had you been in that situation, you would have risked other people’s lives by trying to capture the animals? Oh, get over yourselves.

You know, I love animals, I really do, but sometimes there are situations in which you need to take extreme measures to make sure that no one else gets hurt. Trying to capture every one of those animals would have put many people in danger, and if that’s something you support, you are seriously wrong in the head.

If anyone deserves any blame for this, it is the man who released these animals and sealed their fate. Could the police have handled the situation as a whole better? Probably. But let’s be honest, how many police officers expect to deal with an exotic animal, much less such a large number of them? You cannot sit there safe in your homes and try to dictate what should and should not have been done. It’s sad to have to lose all of those beautiful animals, but for god’s sake quit smearing Hanna’s name in the mud.

Also, implying that anyone involved in the incident should die by any means reflects quite badly on yourself. I would HOPE we’re all adults here and can act as such, but judging by some of these comments, that is not the case.

Americans have been watching too many Disney movies and worse, thinking animals really are like humans. These are animals people. They sleep, eat and poop. They are not writing music, discovering new medicines, building universities or anything else. Stop the dramatics. I imagine all the members of PETA are sobbing non-stop. Bunch of irrational freaks.

Amazing how may arm chair experts there are in the world. Maybe people just like shake their verbal fingers at others.

Tranquilzers and tranquilizer guns are an expense that few small police departments could justify. It’s just not something they are expected to need and the money could be better spent elsewhere. Most of the people posting here would complain about the expense if their taxes had to be raised to cover the cost. Mr Hanna said it’s not easy or predictable and down right dangerous at night. He’s done it more than a few times so he should know more than most of us.
Someone claimed that big game hunters were deputized to destroy the animals. That would be reasonable. The weapons normally used by law enforcement would just make a tiger mad. It would take a person with the necessary skills and weapons to do the job. Don’t think for an instant that the average person or even a well trained police officer could just pick up a heavy caliber rifle and handle it properly or have the skills needed for proper shot placement even if they could get a clear shot. It’s possible that they could have someone, but not probable.

It wouldn’t matter if the cops liked killing the animals or cried over every shot. Their job is to protect the people of that community. They did that.

I do however think there is more to this story than we’re getting.

OMG! Kevin is going to write a paper about this & have one college professor read it! Yeah, that will change the world! That will definitely do something to save animals or people. Ok then. What these police officers did had to be done. They didn’t have the equipment or training to capture, restrain and retain an entire zoo. What are they going to do? Catch 50 wild animals one by one, all at the same time with none getting loose while they are capturing others, then somehow the tranquilizers magically lasts until all 50 are rounded up and sedated & it keeps lasting while all 50 are put back in their cages. Then magically someone will appear to find a place for all of these animals and transport them there, again magically. Yep, you’re right… that’s what they should have done. They could have at least called the Wizards of Waverly Place in on it, but they didn’t even bother did they?

Tracy dear, did you really just call lions & tigers & bears defenseless animals? For real? I mean, do you know what defenseless means? There is nothing defenseless about a 300+ lb man-eating beast that can take down a 2 ton water buffalo without even trying. Defensless is a hamster, hon.

From the horrific human monsters who take wild FREE ANIMALS from their homes and their families ! Then shipped in crates with hardly any air and no food and water for day’s to be sold at horrifying auctions like a product, like they have no souls and feelings! The ones who have now souls are the disgusting people who buy and sale animals like a commodity!!The POLICE HAD NO RITE TO KILL RARE AND EXTINCT ANIMALS EVER!!! The cops should be in jail for acting so quick and abrupt to kill them!!WHY IN THE HELL COULDN’T THEY HAVE USED DART GUNS!With their resources being the cops they could have DART GUNS pronto!!! The head of the The Humane Society of U.S does not speak for all of us ANIMALS RIGHTS ACTIVIST’S! I AND MANY OTHERS CAN’T EVEN BELIEVE THIS WAS EVER AOPTION AND WOULD NEVER CONDONE SUCH A BRUTAL AND VIOLENT WAY TO CONTAIN THEM!!!!! I CAN’T believe Jack Hannah wasn’t more disgusted then he was. Why didn’t he tell them not to shoot these animals to get dart guns while he was traveling!!!!Jack and all Ohio people better change their sick laws as any other places in this country or where ever animals are captured and sold into slavery!

A Duh Huh dense hunter of a Sheriff. A county that never said or did anything. Fish and Game absent, and wild creatures from no fault of their own, dead. For shame. Hold your heads low boys, God is very upset right now. For shame.

While this is a could of would of should of, there still is no excuse to kill these animals. For God’s sake we have shelter in place when a tanker truck full of explosive gas overturns. Sorry I do not buy this danger for an instant. The residents should have been called stay indoors with windows and door shut and locked. Nets could have been used. Yes tranquilizer darts don’t work but stepped ones do in that you take a low dose 50% of the guessed with and shoot, then another 25% and see if it works if not another 25% step it up until it does. But know even with the best expert in this we shoot to kill because is is Safari time. Hold your heads in shame boys, God will not forgive you for killing his children.

I would first like to say Jack Hanna is a well respected figure in every community and he is an expert in his field. He has studied these animals for years and knows what these animals can do. I am no expert what so ever, but Jack Hanna made some very tough decisions. Jack made a decision that was not popular, but was one to save lives of children and individuals in the community. He approached the situation with very little knowledge of how these animals were managed, fed, mediated or how they interacted with humans. I am to an animal lover, but the first priority in any situation is human life. The blame should not be on Jack, but on the man who created this turmoil and then took the easy way out. Some of you mentioned they were on the property heading back to he cages, some said we could of fed them, others say some of the species are not dangerous, but the reality is we don’t know how these animals. We may have studied them in the wild and controlled captivity, but we have not studied them in imprisonment by an untrained man in zanesville. I stand behind you Jack. Thank you for looking after our kids!

Let’s see…… 50 wild animals with big teeth and big appetites running loose…. and a town full of people wanting to go about their day without the threat of a bengal tiger eating their kids as they skip to school….. I have no problem with protecting citizens with whatever means the experts see fit. I wonder what people would say if this happened midday as the circus charged it’s way to the first playground?

JH supporter … I don’t think Jack’s decision was unpopular. I think 95% of the population is reasonable and understands the situation. It’s only the 5% who are very vocal (many not even from the US) who kind of consider this like a single little pitbull going wild. They can’t wrap their minds around 50 large ferocious animals all loose at the same time. I kinda ignore them because I’m a million percent sure that if even, say, 16 tigers were in their yard they’d be on the horn screaming for police to come with guns… you know how I know? Travis. That orangutan that went nuts and tore that lady’s face off. The owner was a big caged primates advocate but on the 911 call after seeing the savage mauling, she was screaming to have her “beloved” monkey shot and shot a lot before it could get to her. Nice. I love how all these people are willing to let others suck up the danger while they play outraged on the internet.

Are people aware that Jack Hanna was once like the man that owned the farm? He kept lions in his back yard. A small child (can’t remember if it was boy or girl) walked into the back yard and the lion torn the little child’s arm off. Jack Hanna is STILL paying for this. He discusses the incident with an interview on Larry King. look it up!

I have to say to all you people who thought there was another way or are talking about Jack Hanna that way you really should be ashamed of yourselves. They did what they had to do. Get over it. Im sorry but I value human life more than animal. The police did what they had to do so dont blame them. I can’t believe some of these things being posted. I doubt any one of you would be posting what you have posted if one of those WILD animals got ahold of one of your children or pets, you would be posting that the police didnt do anything. You cant have it both ways. I bet most of you people dont even live there. Like I said WILD animals not some cute little house cat.

Sorry, I just don’t buy the whole “carnage” scenario, probably paid consultant Jack Hanna puts forth. This was a slaughter, plain and simple of animals who were killed thru no fault of their own. Further, where was the county safety/animal divisions who should have had plans drawn up detailing a response to such an incident. Surely they were aware of the zoo therefore emergency plans should have been in place and followed. Meanwhile there is nothing that will change my mind that the local police viewed this as a once in a lifetime safari where they could freely hunt these animals. Shameful

This is a travesty of the greatest proportion. The state legislature should be ashamed of itself for not instituting a law against these exotic sanctuaries. These animals were innocent and if it was found that he was not able to take care of them properly, then the place should have been shut down. Where were the advocates for these poor animals? It’s disgusting that this happened and that the situation came to such a terrible, terrible heartbreaking ending.

somrthing is fishy here. this was a remote place. how did anyone find out that this turd killed himself? did he call the authorities to tell them what he was about to do? did he actually let the animals out or did someone else knowing that this carnage would occur and it would give the sherrif an excuse for
wiping out these animals? nothing would suprise me…and F ohio for permitting this situation in the first place

Supee and “Jack Hanna supporter”, AMEN!! Supee, maybe we can grab a bag of popcorn and sit back and see how that goes for them. Well I dont know though, I am not one for gory shows.
I know I wouldnt want to be out there helping these “shame on you Jack Hanna” people. I would rather be around quick thinking people that get the job done and not turn it into some freakin fiasco. Imagine if these people actually had to work in emergent situations? Yikes. Well they just get tossed to the side. Hey, just like they would if they had to go and capture these “gentle natured” animals!!

The travesty is that it happened in Jack Hanna’s backyard. Best known in TV for his animal preservation, he tolerated and supported Ohio’s laws on allowing wild animals as pets. Of course now he speaks oTr and ask the Governor to change the legislation. But why now, why didn’t he lend his fame, money, and influence to a cause near and dear to his heart. The rumors are true. Jack Hanna is PROFESSIONAL WILDLIFE PIMP!

Lutz…..those are the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered exotic animals you ever set eyes on! Look, those animals have got a vicious streak a mile wide; there all killers! And especially that rabid herpes monkey. He’s got huge, sharp– eh– he can leap about– look at the bones! Jack….we must toss out the Holy Hand renade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.’

To the Jenn who said that anybody who would chose an animal’s life over a human’s life is insane:

Believe it or not, there are some people in this world who can’t connect with other people, but can connect with animals. Animals (pets, specifically) provide unconditional love and are non-judgmental. Qualities that many people lack (you yourself are judging others for not feeling the same as you).

Personally, there are some cases in which I’d choose the animal’s life over the human’s. For example, if I had to make a choice between saving the a-hole dog abuser down the street, or saving my cat and my bird, my cat and bird win, hands down. If that makes me insane, go ahead and set me up a place in the asylum (as long as I can take my pets).

Well Suupee or what ever is your username, I and others do work on all sorts of animal projects from rescuing to education and legislation as well. Since u are so NOT educated their are plenty of zoos in the area and if Ohio has such a open policy for people to have wild giant beautiful innocent animals and such large numbers then they should already have emergency equipment at a ear shot away.This is not negotiable, their is no excuse for the police to act such a INEFFECTIVE AND COWARDLY Way!These animals have been living on piece of land that is not like the wild the fact that these animals are going to go on a eating spree is very highly unlikely,they would have been unfamiliar with the surrounding and wouldn’t be thinking about eating like starving wild animals in the jungle. I can’t believe they would jump to such unethical and uneducated form of rounding the animals and I’m sure my animal activist could come with something quick on the spot to get the animals, like call all the zoos and every other crazy exotic owner I’m sure they would have all been their with all sorts of equipment and ideas and i bet they would never say shoot them.

Last time I checked everyone was well aware as to what was going on and advised to stay in their homes, secured! So they were not in immediate danger.why not take the time to capture these rare animals alive? Maybe Ohio thought it was inconvenient for people to have to be confined in their homes for more than 24 hours just for the sake of a few rare species, how sad, Ohio you make me SICK!
stop the USA from having Bengal tigers until they have the decency to install legislation in ALL states to prevent private person(s) from owning exotic animals!

I too am upset that the animals had to be killed, but we have two to blame for this! The state of Ohio, (which has been my home for all of my 60 years) and the owner for setting them loose. These are the only two to blame for it. The state of Ohio should have been awakened years ago and hopefully, we will get the laws changed once and for all! Get rid of all animal auctions, this means dogs and cats also! We do not need these auctions in Ohio and if you have ever been to one, you know they are not a good thing at all. Make owners responsible if they are going to own exotic animals! It is time Ohio does something, as now, Ohio has a bad name and we want a good name once again. Let’s change the laws to protect the animals once and for all!

I am a hunter and this is ridiculous. Why did they have to kill the animals??? I mean don’t kill what your not going to eat. They should have only killed animals that was posing a significant threat to humans. Sounds to me like a bunch of trigger happy deputies. I mean they don’t even kill humans that have committed violent crimes like murder..etc…This sounds like BS to me.

I think they did what they really had to do. The owner was completely irresponsible. Yes it is a tragety but Jack is right. The tranqulizer is not easy as you think. Some animals require more than one shot and some get agressive. That town got very lucky. I wouldn’t want to live in an area that dangerous. If you disagree go and set up shop in the wild in africa and see how long you live. It is a way of the state gaining control to protect the general public. Be it that they didn’t do this and people just let them roam and try to tranqulize them I am sure there would have been crying for someone to do something. So I agree, it is a sad thing but there was honestly no logical way there could have been any control other than the action they took.

According to court records Thompson was charged with cruelty to cattle-allowing them to graze because there was not enough food on his property due to excrement. Likely cattle were feed for cats. He then he took carcas to meat rendering slaughter house and was charge with this and having a gun…that he may have used to kill the cow? If 35 cats were feeding on Thompson’s carcas at the time police arrived they must be mighty fast drivers. The cats also at a monkey…but weren’t real hungry according to Hanna because they had been fed. How do we know that Thompson killed himself if he was being consumed? How do we know he let the animals out? How do we know what order the events occurred in? The animals off property not feeding on Thompson’s Animal farm where cats were raised and declawed according to news for make-a-wish use, needed to be secured,and killing was at that time the only choice. But…………..

This is horrible! Shame on the man who kept these animals locked up. But even that Columbus Zookeeper, that has an incredible passion for animals, said that what the authorities did, needed to be done. He said it….even tranquilizers may not have been able to do the job. It has to be shot directly into the muscle…not the bone! And to send someone up there to see if the animal was down was a danger to everyone. In the video they did tranquilize a lion but it didn’t take it down, so what are they supposed to do? These weren’t domestic animals….That sheriff is someone’s father, son, brother….who are we to judge on their actions? I feel for the animals, I really do….but something had to happen.

Poor stupid people don’t seem to realize that, statistically, the most dangerous animal in the world is the domestic dog.

It’s unbelievable how many idiots are mad at Hanna instead of at the man who released these dangerous animals. You people are living in some kind of fantasy world where tigers lions and bears behave like harmless cartoons. I suppose if it was your daughter being mauled to death by a tiger you’d be okay with that as long as the tiger was well fed. Morons!

All you people have some kind of advice on “what I would have done” or “what they should have done” yet you didn’t even lift a finger to help! Nobody wants to hear about how you were 800 miles away and couldn’t make it to Ohio. Yet you can comment on how fast Hanna should have gotten there, but then excuse why you couldn’t go there. Like you couldn’t hop in your Chevy or Ford pick-up, heck you already have your shotgun on a rack in the back, and hot tail on up to Ohio! You judgmental self-righteous hypocrites!!! Why are you even focusing on “could’ve, should’ve, would’ve”? The fault of these animals being slaughtered falls on the state law makers, and the idiot who put all these animals in danger in the first place. It’s done and finished and these animals can never come back. Now the focus should be on changing the laws not focusing on could’ve, should’ve, would’ve.

I love all animals and hate to see them killed but in this case there were no other options that could have safety protected to citizens while not harming the animals in the time they were given. The sheriff and deputies did what was best, and I for one want to thank them for keeping the citizens safe.

Jack Hanna really lost all my respect. I’ll never watch another program with you on it. For an animal lover to help them track down and kill these animals is absolutely reprehensible behavior. Your a hypocrite and that’s all there is to it!

Yea, because there are so many “trained animal capture/protector people” in Ohio. Advocate, you should start a fund to pay for the cost of the helicopter, the tranquilizers, the man power, etc. Duh!! There are some real idiots in this world and you are one of them. I guess you didn’t hear the part where they were chasing horses or eating the owner, or the part where they take down 2,000 pound bison in seconds. Oh and possibly they ate the monkey too. Yes, they should have just tranquilized animals whose sole purpose on earth is to seek and destroy. These animals should have just been allowed to roam in a family neighborhood. Get real

Ok so the last time i checked animals had a beating heart as well as we do. why are we more important than an animal, is it bc we as humans are pros at doing all the wrong things so right. if i know my history then when GOD saved the human life he also saved animal life. pretty sure there was a reason there.
1. the animals had already ate.
2. they were tryin to get in there cages.
3. some of the animals were still in their cages and you still put a bullet in them!
4. they had no claws
5. they were around people everyday!
They were not wild. i know that when i am mad or sick or anything my dog can sense it, all animals can feel things. they see everyone around them freaking out and didnt know what to do. Duh, another thing that really mad me mad that Jack Hanna said was about the whole water buffalo comment. MAYBE IN AFRICA.

Hell yea they already ate. They ate the owner/convict’s head!

I will repeat myself one more time. Human lifes were in danger? I’m not talking about the animals that where roaming outside of the property. I am talking about the animals that were on the property, some trying to get back into their cages. These animals were slaughtered, and yes if OHIO is going to allow wild animals to be kept there, your police better know how to handle them!!!!! I’m not blaming the police, they were given an order. I am however blaming the owner, the sheriff and Hanna. Hanna himself said the six animals that were saved were still in their cages, they did not capture them. The owners wife begged him not to kill her kids. I agree if these animals were attacking people, you have to protect them, but we all know they weren’t all and that is what people are sooooo p*****ed off about!!!! My god!!!! If you really listen to what the sheriff and Hanna have said: they tranq a Bear who than turned toward them, they never said that Bear tried to attack them! the 911 calls that came in said A Lion is walking down the road or in the back yard never did you hear that these animals had been aggressive. Come on! Hanna was way over his head on this one, when having to deal with real wild animals he paniced. Little different when there isn’t a camara in front of you in a controlled in situation. The sheriff called for advice from an expert, He didn’t however get expert advice did he.

Jack Hanna did not give the shoot to kill order! The Sheriff did! I live in Columbus and have been watching it on the local news since the story broke. On Weds night the Sheriff held a press conference and said HE gave the shoot to kill order! He didn’t even mention Jack Hanna or the Columbus Zoo. The next morning the news showed Jack Hanna getting there and said he was there to try and help the animals.He was clearly upset but did his best to try and make the best of the situation. I just can’t believe people are blaming him for the deaths of those animals! Blame the Sheriff, blame the idiot who opened the cages! Team Jack!!

Jack, I can see the heart ache you are feeling. It is all over your face. You did the right thing. Please do not pay attention to the negative responses. You are the professional. You know in your heart the animals needed to be put down, unfortunately. I cry too every time I see a video regarding this catastrophic event.
I commend you and the Ohio police for putting your lives and reputations on the line while taking care of the situation. I’d like to see any of the naysayers be faced with what you and the police officers were faced with on October 19, 2011.
May God Bless you Jack for caring for all of God’s creatures.
I love you for your spirit and truth. You are a good man, something this world needs more of. Thank you.

I have always thought well of Mr. Hanna; however, I am troubled by the fact that he could stand next to the sheriff as if to condone what he did. The footage of the dead animals included zebras although they were never mentioned in any newspaper article. Tell me how zebras pose a threat to the surrounding people. It sounds to me as if this town had a vendetta towards this man and the man had a vendetta against this town. Caught in the meddle were these poor animals. I was shocked to see Mr. Hanna stand next to this man. Many of those animals were killed in daylight which goes against thee idea of it being a bad thing to trranquilize in the dark.

Terry Thompson is NOT the only one to blame here. This sheriff made a call that I can only hope impacts him for the rest of his hopefully short career. No effort made to save any of the animals.
He has a reckless disregard for life that will carry over into the human population.

I am appalled at the disgusting event that took the lives of so many exotic animals, who through no fault of their own, were let loose and slaughtered needlessly. There should have been more help available and the animals demise could have been avoided. Sounds like this was the easiest way to “handle the situation”. I realize the owner caused the event to take place, but he had mental problems. WHAT WAS THE EXCUSE OF ALL THOSE THAT TOOK PART IN THE MASSACRE??? Whoever made the decision to handle the situation in this matter “needs to get a job and a brain”. And as far as Jack Hanna is concerned, SHAME ON YOU FOR YOUR INACTION THAT COULD HAVE CHANGED THE OUTCOME AND SAVED SOME ANIMALS. I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR YOU AND YOU HAVE NO INTEGRITY. YOU WERE A “YES” MAN AND WENT ALONG WITH THE STEPS TAKEN. No amt of B.S. will justify the actions taken. These poor defenseless animals were shooting practice and was a sin against God. You all are a bunch of idiots and I hope you can sleep at night. Now I suppose you will pass some laws prohibiting the possession of exotics? TOO LITTLE TOO LATE!!!!!!!.

the only animals in zanesville were the humans.THis sheriff wantd these animals dead from theget go.THis man tried to sell some of them months earlier and the sheriff blockade his path by stateing they were too dangerous to transport.He wanted them dead to prove his point about exotics.Hanna,i hav lost all respect for him,animals made him who is today,but when it came to time to pay back the favor he killed them.Yes tranqilizer guns were on site,as well as tazers,also ”the wildes” a santcuary not 10 minutes away was willing to help and house all these animals.Again the sheriff denied them axcess,thats sheriff wanted them dead.U can tell alot about a nation on how it treats its innocent animals,and we FAILED TODAY.maryw…ps tranqilizer gun would of worked.

Allow me to share a story with all. I grew up in the hocking hills with wayne national forrest as my backyard playground. I ran those hills for well over a decade. I can’t explain to anyone who doesn’t know what that feeling is like. Exspecially now looking back. I knew them well and still do. I don’t hunt, I just enjoy the forrest. Over the years we had several occurances of ‘exotic’ and or ‘dangerous wild’ animals IN MY AREA. From a mated pair of black panthers that ran the hills for months, bobcats, coyote, to a massive bear that migrated down from the north and stayed resident in my woods for several YEARS. No where in that history were there ANY recorded attacks by these animals on people. And these were ALL predators.

Do not feed me that these animals were dangerous and had to be killed to protect human lives. Yes, it could happen. But Bob the mail man could also go postal and shoot you while delivering your mail. He doesn’t need a reason. He’s a person and people are predators. They attack all the time. So if these animals needed to be killed because they had the capability to attack something. As for the safety of the people? It was dark… Why would someone have been running around in the dark at that hour that was scared for their well being? Exspecially a child of any sort.

I’m sorry, a lot of things happened to bring about this tragic end. A series of unfortunate events, bad judgement calls, questionable laws and regulations… The bottom line is that anyone can look at this and find reasons that these animals did not have to be slaughtered. The only reasons FOR slaughtering them are the same reasons I could use to justify killing a store full of potential gun owners. They may shoot me one day so I should kill them all just to be safe right?

All those years I spent in the woods in my youth… I never feared the animals. I feared the stupid people out in the woods with guns and an itchy trigger finger. I’ve PERSONALLY seen the 12 foot high tree marks that bear left in my forrest shredding the bark of a poplar tree like a scratching post. Heard neighbors talk about the big black cats. Personally heard the howls of a pack of wild coyotes.

My parents didn’t warn me to watch out for the animals. They knew I knew better. My father told me to either stay out of the woods or wear bright colors so the idiots didn’t ‘mistake me for a deer’.

And Mr. Hanna? Why don’t you ask the men who’s actions your justifying just how many years they spent deer hunting shooting in the dark? As a friend to animals as you claim I think I’d at least want to know the truth about the real motivations they had.

This was a pathetic useless tragic waste of life. It was bad judgement all around. The idiot that set them free was just as guilty of killing those animals as the ones that pulled the trigger. But I’ll be damned if I’ll call them heroes for what they did. They ALL know there were other ways. This is the one they chose.

The person at fault here was Thompson, the others didn’t know how to handle this crazy situation. Before Thompson committed suicide he should have called the proper wildlife authorities and told them what he was going to do so they in turn could have possibly saved the animals. He should never have turned them loose if he, indeed, loved them as he claimed.

I sadly must agree with Jack Hanna, it was night by moning those animals that did not go tot hier cages, could be anywhere, and dear heart you are on the food chain. I am so sad to loose those beautiful animals and if that jerk that kept them woul;d have sought help from the Zoo they would have traquilzed them and moved them to a safe place. Unforunatly thoier hands were tied by a liar that said he loved anilas but put all of them in harms way for this. That was not an act of love it was hate for you and me he knew full well those anilas could have killed a hundred people by morning. If one of the hendeliers had been thier it may have been possible to safly put them back in the cages but that could npt occure. Now its a crisis and what happned was the fault of the guy that ciommited suicide AND NO OTHER.

THERE WERE NO GIRAFFES on the property at the time. He had giraffes in the past but not now NO GIRAFFES WERE KILLED. READ THE NEWS AND GET ACCURATE INFO. Yes i t is a tragedy. There is so much incorrect information being reported in these post, you all should really get your facts straight befor getting outraged about false info. Learn what really happned and what really can be done with wild animals in this kind of situation befor condeming.

This is Ohio’s fault for allowing such open animal laws. You think if anyone can own anything the cops would be trained to address wild animals, How do they know if they go into a home and tiger will not be waiting for them? Also its hard to believe all 50 cats where running into the woods and if not killed instantly they would be gone forever. I would guess at least a few were sitting around wonder what was going on.

If tranquilizing anything is so hard how do they ever do it? Why do I not hear about the mass amounts of people who die because its impossible to tell if the tiger is tranquilized or just resting its eyes during a nap. You think they could up the dose and if it killed the animal by mistake due to overdose at least they could say they tried. You think they would give more training to cops who protect a area that has wild animals escape all the time.

Jack Hanna supports places like SeaWorld in FL where animals, who should be living in their natural habitats, are living in bathtubs (likeTilly) the whale who killed his trainer. It’s a travestry supported by Jack Hanna. These poor animals go crazy living year after year in an environment that is totally unnatural, yet you hear Jack Hanna support these businesses that exploit animals. I have no respect for him. What happened (or should have happened) in Zanesville, OH I’m not sure, but one thing I am sure of is I don’t believe Jack Hanna. My heart goes out to the wild animals trapped in cages then murdered once they were released. The owners wife wants her animals back. That’s not the answer, but I would want the animals away from Jack Hanna.

Authorities have only listed 49 animals that they killed but stated officially they killed 56. The other seven animals must be dangerous giraffes and camels. Everyone knows Terry Thompson had a dangerous baby giraffe on the property that was only seven weeks old.

Id just like to start off by saying its awful that these animals had to be put down, but all of these animal rights people are saying just use a dart, or try to trap them or any of these ideas and im sure they thought those over and decided that they weren’t going to work. It pisses me off seeing the animal rights people say those things and blame the police well what would have happened if they tried the darts or tried to trap them and someone got killed in the process or that didn’t work and people got killed. Then would it have been okay to put them down? For animal rights people probably not because they have such a one track thinking i mean i love animals and its horrible for any animal to have to die like they did but since when would you rather have all these animals alive but half a down dead from being killed by wild animals? Its truly crazy.