Ohio officials are clearing the way for the return of five surviving exotic animals to a woman whose husband released dozens of wild creatures last fall, then committed suicide.
The Ohio Agriculture Department announced the decision Monday at an agency hearing in which the state was to defend its authority to quarantine the animals 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 that might happen. Logistics for retrieving the animals will have to be worked out between Thompson and the Columbus zoo, which has been holding the five creatures, said agriculture spokesman Erica Pitchford.
Marian Thompson is the widow of Terry Thompson, who released 56 animals — including black bears, mountain lions and Bengal tigers — from his eastern Ohio farm Oct. 18 before he committed suicide. Authorities killed 48 of the animals as a public safety measure. Three leopards, two primates and a bear survived and have been held at the Columbus zoo since then. One leopard had to be euthanized in January.
Marian Thompson's attorney, Robert McClelland, said his client has adequate cages for the surviving animals, according to a letter obtained last week by The Associated Press through a public records request. The state's agriculture director told McClelland earlier this month that the Agriculture Department required proof of the arrangements Thompson has made for the animals' confinement and care.
State officials issued a quarantine order because they said they were concerned about reports that the animals lived in unsanitary conditions where they could be exposed to disease. The order prevented the Columbus zoo from releasing the animals until it's clear they're free of dangerous diseases.
Terry Thompson's suicide, the animals' release and their killings led lawmakers to re-examine the state's restrictions on exotic pets, which are considered some of the nation's weakest. The state Senate recently passed a bill that would ban new ownership of monkeys, lions and other exotic animals. It now goes to the House for consideration.
Gov. John Kasich, the Columbus zoo, and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation support the measure, which would ban new ownership of dangerous exotic animals but allow current owners to keep their animals by obtaining a new state-issued permit by 2014 and meeting other strict conditions. Facilities accredited by some national zoo groups would be exempt from the bill, along with sanctuaries and research institutions.
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