Born Free USA In The News

ZANESVILLE, Ohio - Amid expressions of horror and revulsion at the killing of dozens of wild animals in Ohio — and photographs of their bloody carcasses — animal rights advocates agreed there was little local authorities could have done to save the dangerous creatures once they began roaming the countryside after their owner released them before taking his own life.

Link: CBS News

Ohio has some of the nation's loosest laws concerning exotic animals, and after the tragedy in Zanesville Wednesday, those laws are under even greater scrutiny from animal-rights activists and the press. So is Gov. John Kasich, the Republican serving the first year of his first term, who declined to extend a policy that would have shut down Terry Thompson's farm.

Link: The Atlantic

Born Free USA was out in force Wednesday when news about the exotic animals incident in central Ohio — in which dozens of wildlife who had been held captive in a rural resident’s backyard were impetuously released by their suicidal captor, then mostly shot dead by law enforcement officers — dominated the news cycle. Among the many interviews with print, radio and TV journalists by Born Free USA representatives was Executive Vice President Adam M. Roberts’ appearance on CNN with Erin Burnett. Watch as Roberts stands toe-to-toe with another Ohio man who has a long history of exploiting exotic animals by presenting them as caged tourist attractions. Read, hear and see us also on ABC, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo! News, BBC, CNN Opinion, the Los Angeles Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This week's incident involving escaped exotic animals in Ohio is a call to action against private possession of wildlife. Our chief executive officer, Will Travers, calls it a "horrific situation" that should "serve as a brutal reminder that wildlife belong in the wild and that no one should ever put the animals or the public at risk by trying to confine them in a zoo, circus, backyard or home, where serious injury or death can occur at any time." Born Free USA tracks such cases through its online database, which lists some 1,600 attacks and incidents reported nationwide. Please consider helping us in our multifaceted efforts to ban the private ownership of exotics by making a generous donation today.

The case of an Ohio man who set loose his collection of wild bears, lions, tigers and other beasts before apparently killing himself has animal-welfare organizations renewing their call for a clampdown on ownership of exotic animals. “Exotic, dangerous animals simply do not belong in private hands. It’s not worth the risk,” said Adam Roberts, executive vice president of Born Free USA.

Link: MSNBC.com

"Elsa: The Lioness That Changed the World" (Brian Leith Productions/BBC/WNET) captured the prestigious Conservation Hero prize at the 11th Jackson Hole (WY)Wildlife Film Festival Awards this week. In the competitive world of documentaries, the work and legacy of pioneering conservationists George and Joy Adamson won plaudits from judges and the public.

Link: Born Free Foundation

There may be fewer men and women sporting full-length sable coats today, but as the cold kicks in, plenty of people are still donning fur earmuffs and fur-trimmed hats and coats. Fur wearing has become more democratized, and now that fake furs look increasingly realistic, it’s hard to tell what comes from an animal and what comes from a machine. And recent controversies over real fur marked as fake prove that the situation isn’t getting any clearer. All of which makes the work of those who know the real cost of fur and are working to end it that much tougher.

Link: E magazine

Monkey, a 3-year-old baboon who had been living in an East Side (Madison, Wis.) laundry room until he was surrendered to the Dane County Humane Society earlier this month, on Aug. 29 was transferred to the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Texas.

Link: Madison.com