STONY RIDGE, Ohio — A Wood County Common Pleas judge has halted a transfer order of exotic animals from a Stony Ridge farm, ordering that they be returned to the property they were seized from earlier today.
Judge Reeve Kelsey signed the order this afternoon, stating that the animals should be returned to Tiger Ridge Exotics off Fremont Pike, taking into account “the safety of the animals.” Officials with the Ohio Department of Agriculture sized the exotic animals - which includes five tigers, a black leopard, a lion, a Kodiak bear, a liger, a bobcat, and a wolf hybrid - this morning by tranquilizing them and transporting them to a holding facility in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, by trailer.
“They shouldn’t have been taken in the first place,” said Kenny Hetrick, the owner of the exotic animal farm, who spoke to media after the injunction. “I should have had a hearing, and I never got one.”
PHOTO GALLERY: State tranquilizes exotic animals at Tiger Ridge
Mr. Hetrick said he’s happy they are being returned, but is angry about the whole situation and has concerns about any potential traumatic effects the move had on the animals.
A large group of people were on the property late today laying down fresh straw, scrubbing water troughs and fixing fencing Mr. Hetrick claimed was damaged during the seizure.
Corrina Hetrick, the daughter of Kenny Hetrick, who owns Tiger Ridge Exotics, said their attorney, Karen Novak of Toledo, had filed a stop order earlier today to try to stop the transport process. She could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Hetrick has been in discussions with state leaders for months now after they said he had failed to obtain the necessary state permit to keep the animals. Erica Hawkins, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said that state officials are seizing the animals today because Mr. Hetrick’s application for a permit, which he submitted after he was contacted by the state, was denied last week.
As of about 2 p.m. today, all of the animals had been removed from the property and state officials had left the animal farm.
ODA spokesman Erica Hawkins confirmed this afternoon that they were aware of the injunction, and said they were assessing when it would be safe to return the animals to the Stony Ridge property because of the tranquilizers that are administered to transport them.
Merrissa Coffman, 19, the granddaughter of Mr. Hetrick, was in tears as she spoke to media, saying the animals were her grandfather’s life. She said today happens to be the fourth anniversary of the death of her grandmother, Roberta Hetrick, which makes it more difficult.
“This is wrong,” she said of the seizure, adding that her grandfather is remaining indoors because he doesn’t want to see his “babies” taken.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture, via a letter sent by a special prosecutor, gave Mr. Hetrick an ultimatum in October. He was to voluntarily surrender the animals or the animals would be seized, and Mr. Hetrick would face charges in Perrysburg Municipal Court for failing to obtain a permit as required by a 2012 exotic animal law.
But then, with the help of donations and volunteers, Mr. Hetrick completed several upgrades to his facility and obtained a $500,000 insurance policy.
Judge Kelsey set a preliminary injunction hearing for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10.
First Published January 28, 2015, 7:35am