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This blog is the work of an educated civilian, not of an expert in the fields discussed.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Exotic Animal Tragedy and Accurate Reporting


 
Both the woman and the operator seemed surprisingly calm considering that it was not merely a bear and a lion but 56 exotic creatures — a fierce menagerie that included wolves, monkeys and 18 Bengal tigers, an endangered species whose numbers total less than 3,000 in the wild — that had fled their cages on a 73-acre private reserve. Friends described the couple who ran it as animal lovers, but they also had a history of run-ins with the authorities.
Rachel Maddow had a report on this tragic story with Jack Hanna -- the goofy sounding animal expert that is a repeat Letterman guest -- as a guest.  It was atypical to have someone preface their remarks, especially before (as she often does) she asks if the report was all correct, with various corrections.  There were a couple trivial detail matters, but he also disagreed with her suggestion that it was partially a matter of politics -- the previous governor's executive order allowed to lapse, the suggestion being (with another bit on some testimony to Congress) it was allegedly a matter of too much regulation and hurting business.

This might be a case where Maddow's standard approach was not quite appropriate.  It seems that the ongoing story had some unclear details and the segment was hurt with a bit too little due diligence.  For instance, mention was made of the main person involved who apparently committed suicide and for some reason let his animals out of their cages, but not to his wife, or who cared for the animals when he was in prison (it is not clear when he obtained the animals from the segment).  It is curious that Maddow didn't thank Hanna (who was firm but polite) for his clarifications, which I think should have been done.  An article reaffirms what Hanna said respecting the need to find a way to legally put in place the regulations, including having the personnel to do so:
Ohio Gov. John Kasich this year let expire an executive order passed by former Gov. Ted Strickland banning exotic animals in Ohio because the order was not enforceable under Ohio law, said Bill Damschroder, ODNR’s chief legal counsel. Ohio Revised Code gives ODNR the authority to regulate only species that are native to Ohio, he said.
The opening quote is from the NYT, which also includes a YouTube clip of a press conference, toward the end Hanna defending the actions of the local law enforcement.  On Maddow, a clip showed how upset Hanna was, him shaking his head while the sheriff spoke.  The coverage (see also) does underline the importance of the right amount of government regulation, which was part of Maddow's point.  Ohio, according to one of these stories, is one of less than ten states with such lax regulation of exotic animals.  But, it wasn't like anti-government Republicans only were involved here.  And, Kasich appears to have done the right thing in this case, though the specific details might raise questions. 

In effect, the matter fell through the cracks, federal law not involved because compensation (interstate commerce?) was not involved.  Animal management is largely up to the states and Ohio (per the the chief executive of Born Free USA) is thankfully atypical on this front regarding exotics.  The individual here was known to be trouble for some time according to the coverage, so the legislature had time to address the situation.  They did not and the result was "just terrible” and "senseless," it "was nonsense" and it "was crazy.” So, said the sheriff.  And, humans could very well have been harmed as well. 

Proper regulation of animals is essential not only to respect their well being, which as creatures with meaning and value is reason enough, but to protect the well being of us all.  When amateurs are allowed to have exotic animals for pets or other reasons, it is generally a bad idea, worse with such lax oversight.