By the end of this month, Ohio officials expect to come up with new regulations to control exotic animals. The push comes after the tragedy in Zanesville. Forty-nine wild animals had to be killed after their owner set them loose and then killed himself.
In a story you'll find only on Local 12 News, reporter Rich Jaffe recently joined a team of state and local officials for an extraordinary learning experience with some big cats.
It is impossible to get this close to cats this big, without a sense of awe. You marvel at their size, their smell, their sounds. You wonder how anyone could ever expect to keep them captive, but too many people do. That's why SPCA Cincinnati's Harold Dates, Ohio State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Forshey and Mike Bailey from the Department of Agriculture traveled to Tiger Haven in Kingston, Tennessee. "I'm looking at the care for these animals, what's the fencing, what's the methods of feeding the animals, I think we're concerned about as we look to Ohio the well being of the animals but also more important public safety, how these animals are contained, what are the possibilities of these fences to fail, so we're looking at a pretty objective and comprehensive look at that right now," said Mike Bailey of Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Tiger Haven is one of the country's foremost rescue operations. It is not open to the public. Started in the early nineties, the predator population here has grown from one big cat, to nearly 300. Rescued from misguided owners across the country, the cats live out their lives here, never bred or sold. Enclosures are 16 feet high. Fencing is anchored in concrete. The cats eat 2500 pounds of food daily six days a week.
Unlicensed, private ownership of exotics in Tennessee became illegal in 1991. Sanctuary owner Mary Lynn Haven says Ohio is a little late coming up with guidelines. "A lot of times places try to eliminate rather than regulate, there are some good owners out there so I don't think they should eliminate all together. Tennessee laws are very strict, very good and to my knowledge there haven't been any escapes since they enacted good laws so I just hope the come up with fair laws for everybody concerned," said Mary Lynn Haven.
Every double locked cage here has a mandatory lock box where animals can be secured if someone must go inside. Mobile cages are built by an expert who's been doing it for 50 years. "It's the tail guard so if you drop it fast, you don't cut their tail off," said Haven.
Officials can't simply take confiscated animals to the nearest zoo. "There are a lot of zoonotic diseases, transmissible between man and animal that these animals can carry for zoos to just take in wild animals from a bio-security standpoint is not only an animal concern but it's also a public safety concern," said Dr. Tony Forshey, an Ohio State Veterinarian.
One of the biggest hurdles for Ohio officials when it comes to regulating these animals is going to be convincing people that regardless of how cute these guys might look, they were never designed to be pets. Harold Dates and Dr. Forshey are expert consultants to the committee working on the Ohio's regulations. Dates says the message from Tiger Haven should be a strong one. "A message to the public that yes these creatures are regal. Yes they're very very beautiful but they shouldn't be randomly owned anywhere at all, not just Ohio, but anywhere."
Tiger Haven is a charitable organization that supported entirely by donations and grants. If you'd like to know more about it or possibly help by adopting one of the big cats,
click here.
