The widow of the Ohio man who released his collection of exotic animals from their cages before shooting himself is threatening to sue the state if her attorney doesn’t get more information about plans for the surviving animals.
Marian Thompson wants her attorney, Robert McClelland, to be contacted about tests scheduled to determine the animals’ health or that the state has set an administrative hearing so she can argue for their return, the
Columbus Dispatch reports.
Thompson’s late husband, Terry Thompson, released his collection of more than 50 animals before shooting himself in the driveway of the property. Deputy sheriffs killed 48 of the escaped animals that night, including lions, monkeys, and tigers, to protect the public.
The remaining animals have been at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium since late October under a quarantine order while they await health tests.
McClelland, in a letter to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said his client wants news about the animals by the end of this week. Thompson began her fight to get the animals returned just days after the incident.
No dates have been set for testing the animals or for an administrative hearing, an agriculture department spokesperson said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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