(Columbus, OH) The state Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a Northwest Ohio exotic animal owner.
Tiger Ridge Exotics owner Kenny Hetrick loses another court battle over the fate of his seized animals. Ohio's agriculture department took custody of tigers, a bear, a leopard and a cougar from the roadside animal sanctuary in Stony Ridge. claiming Hetrick failed to secure a license before a state-mandated deadline.
Hetrick has argued ever since that he was treated differently than other exotic animal owners and has asked the courts to force the state to give him a permit and return his animals, which have been kept in out-of-state sanctuaries.
The refusal to hear the appeal may effective end a two-and-a-half year court battle.