Indebted animal reserve owner 'in over his head'
Source: Agencies |
October 22, 2011, Saturday
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THE owner of a US exotic animal preserve who committed suicide after freeing dozens of lions, tigers and other beasts owed tens of thousands in unpaid taxes.
A fellow big cat enthusiast said farm owner Terry Thompson had taken in so many creatures he was "in over his head."
Sheriff's deputies killed nearly 50 animals set free by Thompson before he killed himself.
It transpires that Thompson was mired in debt. Court records show he and his wife owed at least US$68,000 in unpaid taxes and he had two tax penalties filed against him. He had just been released from federal prison for possessing unregistered weapons.
Kenny Hetrick, who has six tigers and other animals on his property outside Toledo, said he used to see Thompson at exotic animal auctions in Ohio. Many of Thompson's tigers had been donated by people who bought baby animals they no longer wanted once they started to grow, he said.
"He really had more there than what he could do," Hetrick said. "I don't know what his deal was, but he was in over his head."
On Tuesday, Thompson, 62, opened the cages at his animal preserve and killed himself. His body was found near the empty cages with a bite on the head that appeared to have been inflicted by a big cat shortly after he shot himself.
Deputies killed 48 animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers, 17 lions and eight bears - in a hunt across the Ohio countryside that lasted nearly 24 hours. Only a monkey remains missing, and was probably killed by one of the big cats, police said.
Thompson had run-ins with his neighbors and the law over escaped animals and conditions at his preserve. But whether he acted out of desperation or vengeance in setting the animals loose was unclear.
"I know how much he cared for them, and he would know that they would be killed," said Judy Hatfield, a family friend.
"I do not know what happened. I am sure some horrible thing happened to him to make him do this or allow him to lose focus for a moment and do it. But I don't know what it is, and we may never know."
A fellow big cat enthusiast said farm owner Terry Thompson had taken in so many creatures he was "in over his head."
Sheriff's deputies killed nearly 50 animals set free by Thompson before he killed himself.
It transpires that Thompson was mired in debt. Court records show he and his wife owed at least US$68,000 in unpaid taxes and he had two tax penalties filed against him. He had just been released from federal prison for possessing unregistered weapons.
Kenny Hetrick, who has six tigers and other animals on his property outside Toledo, said he used to see Thompson at exotic animal auctions in Ohio. Many of Thompson's tigers had been donated by people who bought baby animals they no longer wanted once they started to grow, he said.
"He really had more there than what he could do," Hetrick said. "I don't know what his deal was, but he was in over his head."
On Tuesday, Thompson, 62, opened the cages at his animal preserve and killed himself. His body was found near the empty cages with a bite on the head that appeared to have been inflicted by a big cat shortly after he shot himself.
Deputies killed 48 animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers, 17 lions and eight bears - in a hunt across the Ohio countryside that lasted nearly 24 hours. Only a monkey remains missing, and was probably killed by one of the big cats, police said.
Thompson had run-ins with his neighbors and the law over escaped animals and conditions at his preserve. But whether he acted out of desperation or vengeance in setting the animals loose was unclear.
"I know how much he cared for them, and he would know that they would be killed," said Judy Hatfield, a family friend.
"I do not know what happened. I am sure some horrible thing happened to him to make him do this or allow him to lose focus for a moment and do it. But I don't know what it is, and we may never know."
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