COLUMBUS, Ohio — In response to the incident in Muskingum County when Terry Thompson released 56 wild animals from cages on his farm before taking his own life, Gov. John Kasich issued an Executive Order on dangerous wild animals.

Kasich instructed state agencies to use existing but underused legal powers in innovative ways to address threats to animal welfare and public health and safety, as well as better support the enforcement efforts of local efforts.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) had a working group of stakeholders looking at the state’s regulations pertaining to the sale and ownership of exotic animals before last week’s incident (that incident resulted in police having to kill 49 of the animals to protect the public). The governor’s order instructs the stakeholders to finish their work by Nov. 30, said Erica Pitchford, Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) spokesperson. The group meets monthly and is under the direction of ODNR Interim Director Scott Zody.

“The reality is that Ohio laws are just incredibly unclear when it comes to this issue,” Pitchford said.

“Up to this point there have been scattered regulations that pertain to the sale and ownership of these animals and the idea is to clear that up, to make sure what what state or local agency is going to have the authority to regulate the sale and ownership of these animals.”

The stakeholder group includes: Assoc. of Zoos and Aquariums (Columbus Zoo); Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA; Humane Society of the United States (Ohio Chapter); Knox County Prosecutor’s Office; Ohio Assoc. of Animal Owners: Ohio Farm Bureau; ODNR; Ohio Veterinary Medical Assoc.; U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance; Zoo Assoc. of America.

“They (the stakeholder group) are going to be some vocal folks but they have worked very hard to work together to make sure they come up with a sound proposal that is enforceable, protects public safety and is looking out for animal welfare of these dangerous and wild animals,” said Laura Jones ODNR chief of the office of communications.

One issue the group had discussed was what animals would be identified as dangerous wild animals.

“We’re not talking about cockatoos, we’re talking about mountain lions and things like that,” Pitchford said.

For the most part non-domestic or non native species are considered exotic species.

So a large number of the health permits that ODA issues in the state for exotic animals are connected to parrots and that type of thing in pet stores.

While nothing is final at this point, the group has a strong leaning towards a ban on new ownership of wild and dangerous animals by individual owners, that is, having one as a pet, Jones said.

The governor’s executive order also directs the departments of agriculture, health and natural resources to work together with local sheriff’s departments and local county humane societies and local health districts to start to compile information about persons or groups or properties in the state that house these kinds of animals. “Everybody is working to come to some kind of a solution as quickly as possible but at the same time we want to make sure that the solution isn’t completely knee-jerk but is a new set of rules and regulations that make sense for Ohio – for the people in the state as well as the welfare of the animals that are already here,” Pitchford said.

As part of the governor’s executive order, ODNR now has a place on their website for people to submit questions or comments about dangerous wild animals. Visit www.ohiodnr.com and click on the “Dangerous Wild Animals” link.