Ohio sheriff: No calls about exotics back at farm

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The sheriff who oversaw the response to an exotic animal release in eastern Ohio says he hasn't received calls or complaints about five surviving animals since they were returned to the property.

Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz (lootz) recounted the incident during a state government-hosted symposium for public information officers Friday in Columbus. He says he doesn't second-guess his decision to order that authorities kill several dozen tigers, lions, bears and other animals apparently set free by their suicidal owner near Zanesville last October.

More recently, the sheriff's office dealt with the case of a severely burned woman who was found along a rural road and later died.

Lutz says it was a gruesome scene and that has made it more difficult to deal with than the exotic animal escape.