HUNT WAS ON: Sign warning motorists yesterday that animals were on the loose from Muskingum Animal Farm in Zanesville, Ohio. (Photos: Reuters)
THOMPSON
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They were sickeningly easy game for a shoot-to-kill spree.
Cops armed with high-powered rifles stomped through the fields and woods around a rural Ohio town, hunting down 56 exotic animals — including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions — freed by the deranged owner of an exotic-animal farm before he blew his brains out.
By yesterday afternoon, 49 animals from the Muskingum County Animal Farm had been killed and six beasts were captured alive.
Officials at first thought the only animal to still be on the loose last night was a monkey infected with Herpes-B. But it was later discovered that the primate had been eaten by one of the large cats.
“It was like a war zone with all the shooting and so forth with the animals,” said Zanesville resident Sam Kopchak, who found a male lion lying dead by a fence at the animal farm.
Officers were ordered to kill the beasts instead of trying to tranquilize them — worried that stunned animals would wander off and wake up even wilder.
“These animals were on the move, they were showing aggressive behavior,” said Sheriff Matt Lutz. “Once the nightfall hit, our biggest concern was having these animals roaming.”
The hunt started Tuesday and went through yesterday.
Jack Hanna, a TV celebrity and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, was shocked at the aftermath, but said cops had no other choice but to shoot the animals.
“It’s probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had in my 45 years,” Hanna said. “I’ll never forget this sight. But there was no other way it could have been done — you can’t dart a wild animal in the dark.”
There are only about 1,400 of the endangered Bengal tigers left worldwide, he added — calling the cats “the most magnificent creatures in the entire world.”
Three leopards, two monkeys and a grizzly bear that were captured alive will be taken to the Columbus Zoo.
Officials wouldn’t speculate why 62-year-old animal-farm owner Terry Thompson killed himself Tuesday or why he had left open the cages and fences at his 73-acre preserve.
But he’d had repeated run-ins with the law and neighbors.
Lutz said the Sheriff’s Office had received numerous complaints since 2004 about animals escaping and that Thompson had been charged with animal-related offenses.
He’d also just been sprung from federal prison after serving a year for possessing unregistered guns.
“Nobody much cared for him,” said neighbor John Ellenberger, speculating that Thompson freed the animals to get back at neighbors and cops.
Angie McElfresh, who lives near the farm and was huddled with family members during the stunning hunt, said “it could have been an ‘F-you’ to everybody around him.”
Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Merry — one of the first officers to respond to calls about the roaming animals — said he gunned down a gray wolf and a black bear, among others.
Some residents said they were scared stiff just at the thought of wild animals roaming free.
“When it’s 300-pound cats, that’s scary,” said one woman.
Others were just horrified at the slaughter.
“It’s breaking my heart, them shooting those animals,” said resident Bill Weiser.
The Humane Society of the United States criticized Ohio Gov. John Kasich for having allowed a ban on buying and selling exotic pets to expire.
With Post Wire Services