Exotic Animal Farms Continue In Wake Of Zanesville Tragedy

It was just under a month ago when 49 exotic animals were set loose and had to be killed in Zanesville, Ohio and the controversy over wild animal ownership began.

Sean Trimbach runs Best Exotics out of Medway, Ohio and took ONN's Stephanie Mennecke through his farm.

"This is Daisy, our Syrian brown bear, she is an eight-month-old female, probably around 70 pounds now," said Trimbach.

Trimbach has close to 300 animals on his property, but he said, he's just your average Ohio businessman. He's a USDA certified farmer who breeds and sells exotic animals.

"There are legitimate businesses in the state doing this properly and a lot of people do base their lives on it. If you just ban it, and shut it down, those people are out of jobs," said  Trimbach.

While Trimbach knows what happened in Zanesville was a tragedy, he said that a knee-jerk reaction of a possible ban is out of line.

"It wasn't a matter of caging failing, it wasn't a matter of not knowing how to take care of the animals, it was a deliberate action," Trimbach said.

The action Trimback refers to is owner Terry Thompson releasing his animals from their cages before taking his own life. Authorities were forced to gun down the creatures in order to  protect the public.

Exotic animals on the loose in the state is a reality that Outreach for Animals Director Tim Harrison predicted years ago.

Harrison feels that the exotic animal population is out of control. 

"They should put a fence around the state of Ohio and just make it a big zoo," said Harrison.

Over the years, Harrison has captured hundreds of big cats, reptiles and primates.

"We had a 14-foot python on Delhi avenue in Cincinnati; a huge python in Anderson Township behind the KFC; a cougar loose in Canton; they have a black leopard loose now in Dayton; and  wolves loose near Akron," Harrison said.

Harrison even starred in a documentary called Elephant in the Living Room which addresses this very topic. 

"We have people with tigers in their homes, tigers in apartment buildings. We got people with cobras," said Harrison.

Harrison said that the entire nation is watching Ohio to see how the state addresses this issue. 

With legislation in the works at the statehouse, Trimbach and others are concerned they may soon be out of business.

"As long as they make it so we can still be functional and profitable, I don't have a problem with a permit system. A ban, I think, would be ridiculous," said Trimbach.

Both sides of this issue will be watching the Ohio statehouse closely.

The decision will determine whether these exotic animals will still have a home in Ohio.

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