90,000 Call on Ohio Governor Not to Delay Exotic Animal Ban
There may be fewer than 3,200 tigers left in the wild in the entire world, but you might be surprised at how easy it is to own one of the big cats in Ohio. Or eighteen of them.
Last week, when Terry Thompson of Zanesville, Ohio opened the cages of his 18 tigers — along with more than a dozen lions, several wolves, bears and primates — before killing himself, it led to a tragic end for the animals, with 49 shot and killed by local law enforcement and the few survivors (including the leopard pictured here) sent to the Columbus Zoo, where they face a life of captivity.
It's easy to blame local law enforcement for the deaths of these animals, but their tragic story started long before the day they were let loose. It started with some of the weakest regulations in the country that make it perfectly legal own this kind of menagerie. That's why Liz Dumler, an Ohio native and Ohio University student, started a campaign on Change.org calling on Governor John Kasich to immediately ban the sale, ownership and harboring of exotic animals.
In just a few days, more than 90,000 people have joined Liz's campaign. On Friday, Gov. Kasich held a much-anticipated press conference on Friday to sign an executive order on exotic animals.
When Kasich had entered office, there had been an emergency executive order in place from his predecessor, banning new ownership of exotic animals. But Gov. Kasich told wildlife officials not to enforce the ban because "it would hurt small businesses." Namely, businesses like roadside zoos and events like bear-human wrestling matches staged by the Ohio exotic animal owner who made headlines last year. Then he let the executive order expire.
Gov. Kasich's new executive order emphasizes the importance of enforcing current laws around animal cruelty and public safety and asked for a temporary moratorium on animal auctions. No mention of a ban on exotic animal ownership.
“I’m very happy that Governor Kasich has taken steps to respond to the tragic situation in Zanvesville this week, but there are still no exotic animals regulations in Ohio to prevent this from happening again,” said Liz on Friday. “The world is watching and people aren’t happy with what they’re seeing. Today’s executive order shows that Governor Kasich is hearing our concerns, but it’s disappointing that he has yet to commit to banning private ownership and trade in exotic and wild animals.”
Kasich set a November 30 deadline for proposals for a new statute to regulate exotic animals in the state. Dumler plans to continue putting pressure on Governor Kasich for the statute to be a ban on the sale and ownership of exotic animals.
Liz says that it was the lack of regulation that allowed last week's tragedy to happen. "The deaths of these innocent animals shouldn't be in vain, let's change the laws in Ohio concerning exotic pets in their memory."
Stephanie Feldstein
is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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