Last October, Terry Thompson, an Ohio man with a large farm and a penchant for wild animals, systematically unlocked nearly ever cage and enclosure on his farm, flooding the surrounding area with a Noah’s Ark of creatures including Bengal tigers and black bears. He then shot himself, leaving animal control officers scrambling to keep the public safe. Over the next few weeks, authorities killed forty-eight of the loose animals and transferred the rest to the Columbus Zoo.
Since then, a battle has raged between Thompson’s widow Marian and numerous state officials. She wanted the two leopards, two monkeys and a bear returned to her home immediately, while her dissenters worried about the potential dangers to both the animals and the surrounding community of adhering to such a request. Ultimately, they were placed in quarantine until the results of numerous tests could be conducted to discern if they suffered from any contagious diseases. When the blood work proved they were not infected, officials had no choice but to turn the animals back over to Thompson.
That transition happened today. Reporters and zoo workers looked on as the five exotic animals were loaded into crates and placed on a horse trailer attached to Thompson’s truck. Representatives of the state were hoping they would be allowed to inspect the farm prior to the animals’ arrival, but they didn’t have any legal basis to do so.
According to The Associated Press, Ohio has some of the laxest pet ownership laws in the country. The situation has sparked renewed interest in making changes, but nothing has been altered yet. So, for now, an Ohio widow is the only thing standing between a bear and some poor sap’s backyard.
