Exotic animals in Ohio - incidents and regulations

When you think of exotic animals in Ohio, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the 2011 Zanesville incident in which Terry Thompson freed over 50 animals he was keeping at his private residence before committing suicide. Authorities later shot 49 of the animals including 18 tigers, 17 lions, 2 wolves, 3 mountain lions, a baboon, and 8 bears. While this tragic incident is Ohio's largest cautionary tale of the dangers of everyday citizens owning exotic (wild) animals it is not the first or last of its kind. There have been plenty of other incidents in Ohio in which, for better or worse, individuals have been found to be in possession of exotic animals you would normally only find at the zoo. The Humane Society provides a 2 page fact sheet of such incidents spanning a decade: Fact Sheet: Recent Exotic Animal Incidents in Ohio.

In response to the Zanesville incident as well as other events, Ohio has gone through some regulation changes over the past few years in terms of who can own, sell, and breed wild animals. These changes have met with controversy and heated debate.