REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (AP) — State officials will return five surviving exotic animals to a woman whose husband released dozens of wild creatures, then committed suicide.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture announced the decision Monday at an agency hearing in which the state was to defend its authority to quarantine the animals — two leopards, two primates and a bear — on suspicion of infectious diseases.
A spokeswoman for the agency said the state had exhausted its authority in the case and that the state's agriculture director would lift the quarantine order that was placed on the animals in October. Medical results released last week showed all five animals are free of the dangerously contagious or infectious diseases for which they were tested.
That means the animals can be returned to Marian Thompson of Zanesville, though it's unclear when. Logistics for retrieving the animals will have to be worked out between Thompson and the Columbus zoo, which has been holding the animals, said agriculture spokesman Erica Pitchford.
Once the animals are returned to Thompson, nothing in Ohio law allows state officials to check on their welfare or require improvements to conditions in which they are kept, Pitchford said.
Pitchford said the local humane society could intervene with help from the county prosecutor if there were an investigation into animal cruelty.
"While repeated appeals have been made to local authorities to seek a court order to inspect the Thompson party to ensure the safety of the animals and the public, so far, no such local action has been taken," Pitchford said.
Messages were left Monday with the Muskingum County prosecutor and county humane officer.
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