WTF? Ohio Police think they're Great White Hunters for a night, shooting escaped zoo animals at will?

For the last several hours the media has been reporting that Zaneville Ohio police armed with night scopes have killed 25 or more exotic wild animals who have escaped from the Muskingum County Animal Farm — an Ohio exotic wild animal farm that contained bears, lions, cheetahs, leopards, wolves, as well as giraffes and other non carnivorous wild animals. The owner was apparently found dead — and all the cages were open — mysterious, indeed. Then the reports go on to say that the police are shooting the animals on sight — hunting them down one by one and killing them. It also states “no humans have been harmed.” So what I don’t get is — no humans have been harmed, it sure as hell isn’t the animals fault, and presumably with a little patience it would be possible to get appropriate personnel with tranquilizer guns into position to secure the animals without killing them. Why is no thought being given to this? Why is the media not even asking the question? It will be interesting over the next couple of days to see if somebody actually stands up and says — did you really have to do that?

Here’s the link to the USA Today article, one of many.