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Ohio Surviving Exotic Animals Back On Farm

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UPDATE: 1:20 PM A woman whose husband released dozens of wild creatures last fall before he committed suicide has returned to her farm with the five animals that survived.

The two leopards, two primates and a bear had been held at the Columbus zoo for six months, but were released to Marian Thompson Friday after a quarantine was lifted.

Thompson picked up the animals in a large trailer and made the drive from Columbus east to Zanesville in about an hour.

Zoo officials criticized the condition of the property where the animals were held when they were released.

Thompson's attorney has said she has adequate cages for them. Ohio's agriculture department says nothing in state law allows them to inspect the farm.
 

An Ohio zoo has returned five surviving exotic animals to a woman whose husband released dozens of wild creatures last fall before he committed suicide.

Marian Thompson retrieved her two leopards, two primates and a bear from the Columbus zoo on Friday. One spotted leopard that was also sent there had to be euthanized.
 
The animals have been held at the zoo since October. That's when Thompson's husband released 56 exotic animals from their Zanesville farm in eastern Ohio before killing himself. Authorities were forced to shoot 48 creatures.
 
Thompson had previously tried to get the animals back, but a state-issued quarantine was placed on them.
 
Ohio's agriculture director lifted the order on Monday. Medical results released last week showed all five animals are free of dangerous or infectious diseases.
 
USDA inspectors are following the horse trailer as it leaves the zoo.