Wild animals shot with......

[robhof]

Then they were burying them, what a waste of good skins and meat, I was always told as a kid there's starving kids in China, I always volunteered to send them my broccoli and spinach.

 

[Manco]

I wonder what weapons the officers used. I saw one report of them using their sidearms, but I question the validity of this.

That's what police officers used to take down the tiger that escaped from the San Francisco Zoo a few years ago (two shots to the chest cavity from .40 S&W pistols), although I'm not sure why.

Anyone heard of reports of what weapons the officers used? I wonder if some of the officers didn't resort to personally owned high-powered rifles in lieu of their AR-15s. But I haven't found that info yet.

I've heard about them using hunting rifles with scopes for the actual hunt, but I wouldn't be surprised if they used a variety of firearms.

They weren't exactly wild animals either...

Well, the police didn't know exactly what they were dealing with. Actual wild animals are somewhat more predictable as well as timid around humans, but animals that are kept in captivity could either be relatively tame or extra-vicious. Animals that escape from zoos, for example, have a history of going berserk when they get a taste of freedom--this doesn't always happen, of course, but it certainly has before. In addition, they may not know how to survive in the wilderness, choosing instead to roam around town looking for things to eat. I'm pretty sure that the zookeepers they brought over realized the danger and advised the police to shoot the animals, as sick as this undoubtedly made them feel.

how do they know they were killing black bears from the preserve and not just actual wild black bears?

The bears from the preserve might have behaved differently, but even if they didn't, the police probably just killed every black bear in a certain area to be sure. Farther away, I presume that they simply reacted to specific 911 calls as opposed to hunting in wooded areas.

So they're taking big game animals with pistols now? I'd like to know what caliber lol because i know they're not carrying .454's and 500S&W's

It'd be interesting to know why they didn't bring along something more powerful at first, but whatever the reason their service-caliber pistols were apparently effective.

But im sure they were in for a rude awakening when they fired their 40 S&W Glocks into an African Lion

http://abcnews.go.com/US/zanesville-escaped-animal-tragedy-officials-call-off-hunt/story?id=14775964

Well, that one officer's "service revolver" worked, in any event. A pistol certainly wouldn't be my first choice in such a situation, but clearly it's better than nothing.

I feel bad for the animals. That being said I think its funny how people of this day and age flip out when they realize they suddenly arent at the top of the food chain.

An exchange ratio of 50 losses to 0 isn't bad for a species that is supposedly not at the top of the food chain....

What makes me sick is all the commenters on those stories blaming the police for not "capturing" the animals. Are you really going to try and chase down deadly animals while night is closing in fast?? It is more like a time bomb, gotta get rid of it asap.

Even Jack Hanna has been taking some heat for defending (and possibly even suggesting, as an adviser) the actions of the police, but this slaughter unfortunately had to be done--there was no acceptable alternative. At least six animals were successfully captured unharmed, and I consider that an extraordinary effort under the circumstances (if they were tranquilized, as they might not have been released in the first place--it's unclear at this point). People are just generally ignorant about the logistics of capturing animals such as these, especially when such numbers are involved. If public safety were not an issue, then sure, most if not all of the animals could have been captured, but as much as I like animals, safety for the human population must come first.

Too bad for the animals. If this had to happen I wish it had happened during daylight hours. Maybe then there could have been a possibility of using the tranqulizer guns.

They used tranquilizer guns as much as they could, and managed to save three leopards, a bear, and two monkeys (maybe, as noted above). I think that's quite impressive, but something had to be done about the other 50 or so animals (mostly big cats and bears) running around.

By the way, another thing I wonder about are the rumors that giraffes and camels were shot, which, if the rumors turn out to be true, seems unnecessary. However, I've read another report that says that there were no giraffes or camels at the preserve when the owner let the animals loose and committed suicide (although there had been such animals previously). We'll probably find out someday...along with the firearms and calibers used.

 

[stickhauler]

I'd say it's a safe bet the bears were from this farm, as someone who grew up down that way, and hunted reclaimed coal mine properties near this farm, I know I've never seen bears that were native to the area.

They have re-stocked bears into the Wayne National Forest down in Washington County in the past few years, brown bears, not black ones.

This guy's place isn't far from a animal preserve in the area called "The Wilds", matter of fact, when I first heard the story, I thought perhaps it was there.

 

[medalguy]

Too many uneducated liberal-leaning reporters out there saying that the poor animals should have been captured and the killing was unnecessary. I guess they also think that if they put out a saucer of milk the tigers will come in purring for the milk. I don't know where these reporters come from, but it's pretty obvious they have no real-world experience with real animals. Or guns either.

Oh yeah, the "assault rifles" are the ones with the thing that comes up, right?

 

[Redlg155]

There were no winners in this situation, least of all, the animals.

The media has been extremely critical, however, it would have been even worse if a child would have been killed by an animal. Kudos to the sheriff who was smart enough to bring in Jack Hanah to help mitigate the damage.

 

[jbrown50]

It's definitely sad for me to see all of those beautiful majestic animals killed, but it couldn't be helped. People don't realize that animal tranquilizer is a perishable item. You can't just keep a bunch of it around for "just in case". It also has to be administered at the proper strength. Too much can injure or kill an animal; the exact opposite of what you're trying to do. Administering it properly means that in most cases it will take a little time for the animal to be incapacitated.

I know the Sheriff's Dept. is receiving a lot of hateful responses from the nutty fringe right now. We should remember that most of these same kooks fought tooth and nail against Ohio's concealed carry law.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

I just heard one monkey was unaccounted for, but then they found it later in one of the dead lion's stomach. There is a rumor that the monkey had been taunting the lion for many years while in separate cages....................

 

[loud-mouth shnook]

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[Tadracket]

I just heard one monkey was unaccounted for, but then they found it later in one of the dead lion's stomach. There is a rumor that the monkey had been taunting the lion for many years while in separate cages....................

If I said that monkey was tasty, I'd be Lion