Days may be numbered for owning exotic animals in Ohio

26 Feb 08 Photo by Ron Alvey. Mark Kumpf (left) and Tim Harrison are carrying alligators to a cage where they will be kept at the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center. The gators were recently confiscated from a house in Dayton. Kumpf is the Director at the Animal Center and Harrison is an Oakwood police officer and Director of Outreach for Animals.

Ron Alvey/Staff photo 26 Feb 08 Photo by Ron Alvey. Mark Kumpf (left) and Tim Harrison are carrying alligators to a cage where they will be kept at the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center. The gators were recently confiscated from a house in Dayton. Kumpf is the Director at the Animal Center and Harrison is an Oakwood police officer and Director of Outreach for Animals.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Cindy Shaffer holds a photo of her exotic cat, Serafina. The animal, similar in appearance to a cheetah, was kept as a pet and has been missing for two months. The cat is described as friendly to people, but will bite if someone attempts to pick it up.

Marshall Gorby/Staff Photo Cindy Shaffer holds a photo of her exotic cat, Serafina. The animal, similar in appearance to a cheetah, was kept as a pet and has been missing for two months. The cat is described as friendly to people, but will bite if someone attempts to pick it up.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Ohio to ban exotic animal ownership

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By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer Updated 5:10 PM Saturday, September 4, 2010

Nobody knows how many or what non-native wild animals are kept as house pets because no regulatory agency in Ohio keeps records on them.

Neighbors and the rest of the public find out about them when they escape, wreaking fear, panic or harm.

In a signed agreement earlier this year with the Humane Society of the United States, Gov. Ted Strickland promised rules banning ownership and sale of exotic animals in Ohio. Additionally, new rules will allow the state to remove animals from owners who behave irresponsibly.

The rules, now being drafted, will bar animals that are “wild and dangerous,” but the list hasn’t been finalized. It will be developed after input from public, experts and others on the issue, said Mike Shelton, Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesman.

Many cities, including Dayton, already ban exotic pets.

Mark Kumpf, director of the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center, said that in his time, he’s chased snakes, alligators, serval cats like the one that just escaped its home in Clark County, and other inappropriate pets.

“It’s about public safety and humane treatment of animals,” he said. “The proper place for a bear is not in someone’s backyard. In fact, it shouldn’t be a pet at all.”

Harold Brown, director of Greene County Animal Control, agrees. He counts wolf hybrids and bears among the animals that have caused problems in his county recently.

“They should only be kept by zoos for educational purposes,” Brown said. “They should be controlled and prohibited.”

An incident in Lorain County in August rallied critics of Ohio’s loose laws. There, a pet black bear owned by Sam Mazzola attacked and killed a man feeding it. Mazzola, now undergoing a court-ordered mental exam, had a permit for the bear from the state. He also owns wolves, tigers and a lion.

Ohio does keep a record of native wild animals kept as pets and, for now, issues permits for them. The number includes 89 black bears as well as various numbers of bobcats and venomous snakes including timber rattlesnakes and copperheads.

Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society CEO, said the Lorain County death “demonstrates the need for immediate action to prohibit private ownership of dangerous wild animals in the state.” He added: “Other states have taken action, but Ohio has been one of the outliers, putting both public safety and the welfare of the animals at risk.”

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