Jack Hanna: Proposed exotic animal law too soft

American zookeeper and TV personality Jack Hanna is outraged that Ohio lawmakers haven't passed a bill to control the exotic animal population -- and he's even angrier over a proposed state law that would allow owners to keep these creatures indefinitely.

Hanna told the Columbus Dispatch that he would "no way" support the revised proposal by Ohio state senator Troy Balderson (R).

"If you found someone who had a bomb in their basement, you'd take it away, wouldn't you?" Hanna told the Dispatch. "If a child got killed by a tiger, how long do you think it would take to pass this legislation?"

Ohio bill would ban new ownership of exotic pets
Spotted leopard from Ohio farm euthanized at zoo
Ohio farmer Terry Thompson spoke of troubles before freeing exotic animals

Exotic animals in Ohio became a national issue when an owner freed over 50 wild animals on his Zanesville farm and committed suicide. Policed were forced to kill 48 wild animals, including endangered Bengal tigers.

A spotted leopard that was one of the six animals that was able to be captured after the escape was euthanized on Jan. 30, 2012 after it suffered a severe spinal cord injury at the Columbus Zoo.

An Ohio committee set a deadline of Jan. 1, 2014 for people to find new homes for their exotic animals, but Balderson's alleged plan would extend that timeline for several years. The proposal reportedly makes provisions for keeping some of the animals until they die, which Hanna tells the Columbus Dispatch could take 25 to 30 years. However, residents would be barred from purchasing new animals.

According to the Associated Press, Balderson planned on introducing the bill this week, but is holding it because he feels it isn't ready.

Speaking at the Ohio Newspaper Association, Hanna said these exotic creatures aren't a "little issue," but what he called bombs waiting to go off.

[AnnieDanny]

Oh, everybody's been over that a whole lot of times. It was dark, it was mayhem and the person to blame is the guy who let all those creatures loose. I don't see why some people feel compelled to blame the cops. They had an awful situation to deal with. Even the Zoo people said there was little else that could be done.

And, it's partly the fault of the Ohio governor too, apparently: people wanted him to sign a bill (or extend a law or something) about exotic animals but he wouldn't or didn't.

It's time Ohio stopped foolin' around and got the job done. Ineffective legislatures that can give themselves raises but can't get a handle on the real problems in this country are one of our biggest plagues at the moment. High priced deadbeats, IMO.

[ThomasKirby]

I'm sorry but I fail to see the logic here. How does this incident say anything about the majority of animal owners? Did I miss something?

[Ceres6]

Since you found appropriate the killing of all those defenseless animals then enjoy the picture above!

[Ceres6]

The killing of most of the wild animals by the police in Ohio simply shows how morons and blood thirsty they are. The Ohio police sharpshooters were using powerful bullets to destroy those rare animals, without thinking that the animals could be saved with the use of tranquilizers instead of bullets. For morons it is very difficulty to understand that. I suppose that after the killing, those idiots were feeling like supermen for having saved humanity, when in reality those animals could not defend themselves.