Post by Admin Rose on Oct 23, 2011 5:32:09 GMT -4
An Ohio sheriff said Saturday he had no second thoughts about giving an order to shoot and kill 48 exotic animals -- including lions, tigers and bears -- that had been intentionally released from a family farm where they had lived in captivity.
Sheriff's deputies shot 48 animals, including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions, after Terry Thompson, owner of the private Muskingum County Animal Farm, threw their cages open.
The incident last week thrust Muskingum County into an international spotlight, and people worldwide have second guessed the actions of Sheriff Matt Lutz.
"When I gave that order, I wasn't thinking about the animals," Lutz said. "I was thinking about the public and their safety. I know I would do nothing different today."
Tuesday evening, the sheriff's office had to deal with 56 roaming animals after their owner, Terry Thompson, 62, released them from their cages and then killed himself.
Six of the animals were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo. One monkey is unaccounted for but presumed dead, and another monkey was killed by one of the large cats.
Media from across the country poured into this county of 86,000 residents to cover the story.
Lutz said he, his dispatchers and deputies have received numerous phone calls and emails from people extremely distraught and angry about the deaths of the animals.
"Some people are being very hostile to my dispatchers and even me," Lutz said. "They're using profane language in some cases, but I believe that these people don't have all the facts."
Lutz said that in his 23 years as a member of the sheriff's office, he had personal experience in dealing with Thompson and knew the volume, type and aggression level of the animals he kept on his 73-acre farm.
"I've been out there and walked past the pens and had those cats become aggressive," Lutz said. "I knew if those animals were running loose, they were out of control. If I had to do it over, I'd do the exact same thing.
"It didn't have to happen, but that was a decision Mr. Thompson made," Lutz said.
Sheriff's deputies shot 48 animals, including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions, after Terry Thompson, owner of the private Muskingum County Animal Farm, threw their cages open.
The incident last week thrust Muskingum County into an international spotlight, and people worldwide have second guessed the actions of Sheriff Matt Lutz.
"When I gave that order, I wasn't thinking about the animals," Lutz said. "I was thinking about the public and their safety. I know I would do nothing different today."
Tuesday evening, the sheriff's office had to deal with 56 roaming animals after their owner, Terry Thompson, 62, released them from their cages and then killed himself.
Six of the animals were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo. One monkey is unaccounted for but presumed dead, and another monkey was killed by one of the large cats.
Media from across the country poured into this county of 86,000 residents to cover the story.
Lutz said he, his dispatchers and deputies have received numerous phone calls and emails from people extremely distraught and angry about the deaths of the animals.
"Some people are being very hostile to my dispatchers and even me," Lutz said. "They're using profane language in some cases, but I believe that these people don't have all the facts."
Lutz said that in his 23 years as a member of the sheriff's office, he had personal experience in dealing with Thompson and knew the volume, type and aggression level of the animals he kept on his 73-acre farm.
"I've been out there and walked past the pens and had those cats become aggressive," Lutz said. "I knew if those animals were running loose, they were out of control. If I had to do it over, I'd do the exact same thing.
"It didn't have to happen, but that was a decision Mr. Thompson made," Lutz said.
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