article_snippet.sent: An exotic animal owner from Ohio is campaigning for An exotic animal owner from Ohio bear and big cats to be returned after his bear and big cats were seized by the state in January.
article_snippet.sent: Authorities have also started cracking down on the owners of  wild creatures following an incident in 2011 where a man in eastern Ohio released 56 exotic animals - including lions and  tigers - then killed An exotic animal owner from Ohio.
article_snippet.sent: However, the 2011 incident mentioned earlier pushed Ohio to tighten regulations on 'private zoos'.
article_snippet.sent: Owners are now required to have sturdy cages, background checks and insurance before receiving an annual permit.
article_snippet.sent: Since the beginning of last year, Ohio has issued permits to 54 exotic animal enthusiasts.
article_snippet.sent: State officials also said state inspectors who visited the sanctuary outside Toledo last November discovered the tigers could stand on the tigers housing and get dangerously near the top of the tigers cages.
article_snippet.sent: The inspection noted there were unsecured padlocks and chains and not enough fencing around an enclosure holding a tiger and black leopard. '
article_snippet.sent: The Ohio Department of Agriculture has a duty to protect the public's safety, spokeswoman Erica Hawkins said. '
article_snippet.sent: Today, The Ohio Department of Agriculture Agriculture did the right thing by seizing the wild animals at Tiger Ridge Exotics who have been held illegally and long neglected.
highlights_snippet.sent: State officials found he didn't have the right permit and cages were 'unsafe'
  