Ohio zoo owner sets dangerous animals free and kills himself

A private zoo owner set free dozens of lions, tigers, bears, wolves and other animals before killing himself.

Police shot most of the animals as they wandered the countryside in Zanesville, Ohio over due to worries that they could attack people.

Sheriff Matt Lutz said zoo owner Terry Thompson left the animals’ gates open and even cut open their pens so they would get out.

Deputies found Thompson’s body when they went to his farm after getting reports of wild animals running free.

They spent the night hunting down and shooting most of the nearly 50 animals.

Schools closed and motorists were warned to stay in their vehicles as officers with assault rifles hunted for the remainder.

They were under orders to shoot to kill because it was not safe to tranquillise the animals in the dark.

Flashing road signs told motorists, “Caution exotic animals” and “Stay in vehicle”.

The preserve had lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears. Police said bears and wolves were among the escaped animals that were killed and there were multiple sightings of exotic animals along a nearby highway.

Sheriff Lutz called the animals “mature, very big, aggressive” but said a caretaker told authorities the animals had been fed on Monday.

More than 50 armed officers patrolled the 40-acre farm and the surrounding areas in cars and trucks.

Neighbour Danielle White said she did not see loose animals this time but did in 2006, when a lion escaped.

“It’s always been a fear of mine knowing (the preserve’s owner) had all those animals,” she said. “I have kids.”

She said Thompson had been in legal trouble, and police said he had been in jail recently.

“He was in hot water because of the animals, because of permits, and (the animals) escaping all the time,” White said. A few weeks ago, she said, she had to avoid some camels which were grazing on the side of a road.

Sheriff Lutz would not say how Thompson died but said several aggressive animals were near his body when deputies arrived and had to be shot.

Thompson, who lived on the property, had orang-utans and chimps in his home, but those were still in their cages.

The deputies, who saw many other animals standing outside their cages and others that had escaped past the fencing surrounding the property, began shooting them on sight.

Zoo staff went to the scene, hoping to tranquillise and capture the animals after daybreak. Director Jack Hanna, said that was something that could not be done in the dark.

“You cannot tranquillise an animal like this, a bear or a leopard or a tiger (at night-time). If you do that, the animal gets very excited, it goes and hides, and then we have his (Lutz’s) officer in danger of losing their life, and other people.”

Thompson had permits to keep four black bears, said a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources which licenses only native species.

Ohio has some of America’s weakest restrictions on exotic pets and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them.