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Protection from exotic pets needed sonner than later

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By Jim Morris, Contributing writer Updated 1:00 AM Sunday, November 27, 2011

If the Ohio legislature passes a law banning ownership of dangerous exotic animals, there should be measures included that protect Ohio’s citizens right now, not in 2014.

The panel coming up with a recommendation for what will be contained in such a law apparently has set a deadline of Jan. 1, 2014, for all owners of exotic “pets” to get rid of them or have them confiscated.

But what about the period before Jan. 1, 2014? How will Ohioans be protected until that date?

Gov. John Kasich could — and should — sign an executive order banning all sales in Ohio of animals on the dangerous exotic list. He should have signed it on May 1, 2011, when the executive order from the previous governor ran out.

But he didn’t. Instead, he decided to drift with the political winds that he felt would benefit the state economically.

That all came before the lunatic in Zanesville opened the cage doors of his many exotics before committing suicide. That changed everything and Kasich realized public safety is more politically correct than stroking a group of exotic animal owners.

In a sense, Kasich dodged a legal bullet. Had someone been injured or killed by those animals, what kind of lawsuits would have been filed against the state for not having a law or executive order in place protecting citizens?

The previous executive order not only banned dangerous exotic animal sales, but mandated existing owners have safe places to keep them that would be inspected. If deemed unsafe, the animals could be removed.

According to Springboro’s Tim Harrison of Outreach for Animals, Terry Thompson’s Zanesville facility was “second on the list for the removal of all of his animals back in May.”

But with no law and no executive order, the animals remained in his control.

Harrison, who serves as an adviser to several states and cities who have written laws banning exotic animal ownership, said: “The whole country is looking at Ohio to see what it is going to do. They are looking right at Kasich’s office and wondering if he will do the right thing.”

That executive order should ban all exotic pet sales, not just non-licensed sales as Kasich ordered a few weeks ago. Why would any wild animal auction be licensed? That implies the state sanctions the practice as long as someone pays the state to do it.

The order should also include giving the government the right to inspect all facilities where animals are kept to make sure they are treated humanely and to ensure they cannot escape. For those who do not comply, Jan. 1, 2014, comes early.

It seems to me that’s a whole lot better than having it come too late for some innocent Ohio citizen.

Outdoors columnist Jim Morris can be reached through his website at www.examiner.com/outdoor-recreation-in-dayton/jim-morris or by email at sports@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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