Sickening

Too little, too late. Today, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed an executive order cracking down on the ownership of exotic animals like those killed in Zanesville this week. This story made me physically ill. Why  Terry Thompson was allowed to buy so many wild animals that he obviously could not afford to keep is bewildering and maddening. Ohio, like many other states, has some of the laxest regulations on the keeping of exotic animals as pets. While this horrifying incident has forced lawmakers into hotshotting legislation to keep this from happening again, it's obviously too late for the wild animals who were shot because they were being wild animals. Of course, blame should be placed on the idiot whose greed placed these creatures where they should never have been, but since he's conveniently dead too, then the onus should be on lawmakers whose job it is to protect us from our own stupidity. When I saw the pictures of these beautiful creatures, dead and stacked up on the lawn like bags of mulch, I seriously wanted to throw up. And even though experts from the Columbus Zoo and the a statement from the Humane Society of the U.S. assured us that shooting to kill was the proper course of action, given the lack of daylight and the frightened state of the animals, in order to protect humans, I was still not comforted. How could this have happened? Of course, had it occurred here in Texas, residents would have interpreted warnings of exotic animals on the loose as a call to arms and grandmothers and children would have joined in on some "good huntin'." Sometimes I am truly ashamed of my own species. It's no wonder the stories of bear attacks, mountain lion maulings and shark bites have increased in frequency in the news lately. Maybe it's God or Nature, or whoever you believe in, trying to tell us to leave the animals where they are and quit destroying them and their homes. I am sickened by what humans have done to other animals (yes, we are animals too) just because we CAN. There's no reason anymore for having circuses and zoos either. I don't need to go see a panther or an elephant in person to know that one exists. We have a new thing called "the internet" where you can see videos and pictures in high definition color of these creatures where they should be: in the wild. Seeing one chained up in a small enclosure decorated to look like the wild environment they belong in does not fool me into thinking I've seen one in the wild. Leave the animals were they belong and quit bothering them. Greed and ignorance will destroy creatures we are supposed to share this planet with, not manipulate for profit. I hope this nightmare strangles all businesses that profit from the existence of exotic animals, including circuses and some zoos. And don't even get me started on idiots who hunt for entertainment who I believe should meet their adversaries on equal grounds. Bear hunting may not be so much "fun" if the hunter were enclosed with the 7-foot tall grizzly with 8-inch daggers on his paws. THAT, I'd pay to see.