Ohio surviving exotic animals back on farm
By The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio zoo today returned five surviving exotic animals to a woman whose husband released dozens of wild creatures last fall before he committed suicide.
Two leopards, two primates and a bear have been held at the Columbus zoo since October. State officials had ordered the animals be quarantined on suspicion of infectious diseases.
Ohio’s agriculture director lifted the order on Monday, and Marian Thompson of Zanesville, who had appealed the order, retrieved the animals today from the zoo.
Thompson took them back to the eastern Ohio farm where her husband released 56 animals — including black bears, mountain lions and Bengal tigers — before he committed suicide. Authorities killed 48 of the animals, fearing for the public’s safety.
