Zoo Has Issue With Balderson Exotic Animal Bill

Proposed legislation involving stricter guidelines of exotic animal ownership is drawing criticism. Officials at the Columbus Zoo are taking issue with an exemption that would allow a school to display a dangerous wild animal as a sports mascot. The exemption is part of a proposal introduced this week by State Senator Troy Balderson of Zanesville to regulate exotic animals in the states. The Zoo’s Chief Operating Officer says the facility supports the legislation overall, but not the exception. The bill would ban new ownership of exotic animals in the State. Current owners of large animals would be barred from keeping the creatures unless they met strong standards beginning in 2014. The issue of exotic animals made headlines this past October when Terry Thompson released dozens of creatures on his Kopchak Road farm in Muskingum County and then committed suicide.