Ohio Cracks Down on Exotic

Animals
By: Jaeydah Edwards
October 16, 2015

A hundred animals have been seized from various Ohio homes since 2012, when a law
regarding exotic animals was passed. This law was passed after a Zanesville man released dozens
of exotic tigers, lions, and bears in 2011. After passing the law, the state of Ohio required that all
owners of dangerous animals apply for a permit and follow certain guidelines. However, not
many Ohioans have been willing to follow this law.

For the past few days, animals have been frequently seized from homes due to their
owners not having the appropriate permits. On October 7, four bears were seized from an Ohio
property near Germantown. The owner, Daniel Chambers, also had a tiger and a cougar in his
possession. The bears were taken to state holding facility, where many other seized and
surrendered animals now live.

The seizure of the bears came two days after a different owner, Mike Stapleton,
surrendered five tigers. Both Chambers and Stapleton started, but never finished their permit
applications. In other cases, the state was able to work with owners whom had submitted
incomplete applications. However, this did not work with Stapleton and Chambers. According to
Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Erica Hawkins, These two guys were in a group of
people that, despite multiple outreaches to try to give them that same courtesy to allow them to
complete that permit application, they chose not to do it." In both cases, their incomplete
applications led to the loss of their animals.

This issue is connected to the U.S. government because due to federalism, the states have
their own governments that allow them to make laws. Federalism divides the power of the
government into two levels. Some powers are delegated to national government, while other are
reserved for the states. Under federalism, the states have their own courts, laws, and
constitutions. If there is an issue that needs to be tended to in the states, they can make a law that

addresses that issue. This can be done without interference from the national government.
Because exotic animals posed an issue in Ohio, the Ohio legislature was able to pass a law
addressing the issue. The Ohio government passed a law requiring exotic animal owners to have
a permit and follow certain guidelines in order to keep their animals.