ZANESVILLE, Ohio—For several years Hollywood icon Tippi Hedren has been caring for abandoned wild cats at her animal sanctuary Shambala near the city of Los Angeles. Hedren has lobbied the U.S. Congress for years to get a bill passed to outlaw the adoption and raising of exotic cats, including leopards, tigers and lions. Although common sense would tell anyone that wild animals are not to be kept as household and domestic pets, last week’s shooting of dozens of these beautiful wild creatures has stirred up outrage and debate. Though the Sheriff had to make a quick and painful decision to kills most of the animals to protect the public at large, anytime the federal government attempts to regulate bad behavior by many Americans, there is an uproar and outcry that the government is taking our rights away.

Tippi Hedren Adopted Thriller and Sabu When Michael Jackson Could No Longer Care For Them

Perhaps after this horrific incident, the State of Ohio and other states around the nation will enact laws to hinder private ownership of wild cats and other exotic wild creatures that are now being placed in homes and neighborhoods around the country, including your own.

On Tuesday, September 18, just before dusk on a beautiful farm near a private park for animals, sheriff’s deputies were stunned when they had received reports of growling Bengal tigers, lions, grizzly bears and wolves were wandering freely, released just before their own shot and killed himself. The man’s decision to unleash wild animals upon the public is a direct result of Ohio’s refusal to mandate regulations by a conservative legislature that believed up until Tuesday, that Ohioans had the right to own any type of wild animal they deemed acceptable, even though federal regulations have been in place to try to end this practice, thing seems to come down to in the United States, it’s all about political pandering. Many animal rights groups have been complaining about Ohio’s minimal regulations on purchasing and owning such creature.

However, by Wednesday over 50 wild animals had been killed by the authorities in Zanesville while others were still on the loose. Yes, Zanesville, Ohio, not Tanzania, Africa or India or any other wild region of the world, where these creatures are free to live in their own habitat. For months, the man, a self-professed government hater, who was just released from prison for weapons charges, had been virtually starving and not caring properly for the animals, which were increasingly becoming more dangerous by the day.

The tragedy that Americans now know all too well stems from the owner, Terry Thompson’s decision to own and release dangerous animals on the public. The local sheriff was immediately vilified by animal groups, while many looked on in shock and horror at the killing of innocent wild animals, and conservatives quietly ignored the reason why this occurred is a direct result of the desire to battle the government on every piece of legislation signed by this current president and anyone else on the state or local level which may wish to use common sense to keep the public safe. No one blames the animals, but should the sheriff be reviled? His duty as sheriff is to protect the public from danger. It pained the sheriff to make the decision to kill 50 of the 56 animals, but he was placed in this position directly by Mr. Thompson and those like him who refuse to believe or understand the need for governmental regulations of some kind. To protect the rest of us and innocent animals from people, who frankly have no respect for anyone around them, including their animals.

Experts estimate that there are over 5,000 privately-owned Bengal tigers alone in the US, more than a wild population that numbers about 3,600. The breeding, buying, and selling of exotic animals is only loosely regulated in the US and permits are required only when exhibiting animals.

In the wake of the Zanesville shootings, animal rights groups stepped up calls for an outright ban on transporting and owning exotic animals. “These animals should not be kept in people's backyards, their basements, or bedrooms,” said the CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. However, groups that advocate for animal owners’ rights are already vowing to fight to keep Ohio’s laws free of regulations, so that their members can continue to raise wild and exotic creatures.

But groups like the Ohio Association of Animal Owners, Inc., which have successfully fought for the right to own non-native animals, vowed to block new legislation. Exotic pet owners say an outright ban is going too far, and that authorities should focus on shutting down problem facilities like the one Thompson ran outside Zanesville.

As a sign of the power of the exotic animal trade, a federal law limiting the transport of primates in the US failed recently in Congress, and a push to ban the ownership of big, invasive snakes like pythons has found little traction despite several deaths over the recent years in Florida.

Seven states, including Ohio, have no direct bans on owning such animals, and federal authorities control only the interstate transfers of big, non-native animals like Bengal tigers. The Governor of Ohio in an effort to appease a group of citizens who dislike any governmental regulations allowed a law to lapse, refusing to sign it, that would have denied licenses to those such as Mr. Thompson, to own and/or possess exotic animals, who have previously been convicted of animal cruelty.

Photograph of Thriller and Sabu at Shambala is courtesy: Bill Dow Photography