Ohio Once Again Stomps on Citizens Rights

On May 4, 2016, the out of control goon squad from the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) once again illegally raided the home and property of an Ohio exotic animal owner in their never ending campaign to kill or remove all wild animals from Ohio.  As I have written about previously the ODA has seized and destroyed the Tiger Ridge animals and since then sent their vigilante SWAT teams after Daniel Chambers, Mike Stapleton, and a family who owned an 18 year old bear. 

"And I said goodbye to him and he was licking me and grabbing my finger and stuff ." said Jeff [Fitzgerald]

The state of Ohio has even been wasting taxpayer money to prosecute a domesticated bobcat owner that is in complete compliance with the law since the new ODA regulations do not cover bobcats.  Adam Federer's 26 pound cat, legally permitted under his Department of Natural Resources (DNR) permit since 2003, is nothing more than a large house cat and never leaves his home.  Federer has continued to win in court against these out of control bureaucrats yet Ohio is wasting taxpayer money to fight the way to the State Supreme Court over a single bobcat.  

Now they raided the non-profit educational and rehabilitation center Stump Hill Farm of Perry Township, Ohio, a long time target by the animal liberation fanatics of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), while a SWAT team stood by, and then trucked the drugged animals to the inhumane animal prison that ODA built at Reynoldsburg in 2013.  

Stump Hill Farm's lawyer immediately filed a restraining order against ODA and the Judge agreed that these desk jockeys had violated the law. This is typical behavior for the ODA. They routinely raid owners who have filed for permits that have not yet been approved, or who are properly permitted through other state and federal agencies. The ODA uses the permit application system as simply a shopping list to find animals to steal. 

"There was no reason to move these animals and put them through the distress until this is resolved," Juergensen said, adding the move was meant to "gain an advantage" over his client. "It was a waste of taxpayer money."

Two baboons and a chimpanzee, in particular, have lived at Stump Hill Farm for over 20 years.  20 years!  Yet just because Ohio passes a new permit law with hoops and hurdles that no Ohio resident can meet, suddenly now the public is in "danger" from these dangerous animals that justifies the use of armed SWAT teams?  

All of these facilities that the ODA has raided and destroyed under the new law had existing state and federal permits in place from beginning.   Huntsman of Stump Hill Farm has an existing permit from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources but the Ohio Department of AGRICULTURE in a power grabbing move wants a chunk of the pie as well and demanded new permits from them.  As is typical with bureaucrats, you can be a licensed and legal business for 40 years and they pass a new law and suddenly run to the media declaring you have no permit to operate.  

A spokesperson from the Ohio Department of Agriculture told Fox 8 that the owner, Cindy Huntsman, failed to acquire a permit or an exemption as required by state law.

See? Absolute and utter lies and a typical move of the ODA. 

"We've been fighting with them (state) for two years," Juergensen said. "She has a permit and she believes it covers all the animals. The state disagrees."

The next hearing on Huntsman's permit fight was scheduled for August but ODA couldn't wait that long to seize animals they wanted.  The Judge agreed that ODA had denied Huntsman her Due Process rights and had wasted a ton of the taxpayers cash.

A judge in Stark County Common Pleas Court has ruled that 10 animals seized by the state Wednesday be returned to the Perry Township woman who owns them.

Judge Forchione ruled that ODA has two weeks to return the animals back to where they illegally took them once the effects of the tranquilizers wear off. You can bet the farm that over the next two weeks, the ODA will do everything in their power to avoid having to return the stolen animals. 

[Judge] Forchione scolded state officials for failing to provide him with information about the ongoing conversations with Huntsman, the upcoming hearing and the quarantine order, and said he would not serve as a "rubber stamp" for the government.

After all in the Tiger Ridge case, the Judge in Wood County ordered the animals to be returned to their legal owner but the ODA stalled and stalled and bombarded the court with motions to delay and obstruct justice and then quietly and illegally shipped the animals out of state. Well all but one.  ODA's poor animal care killed one of the Tiger Ridge animals. 

The state is burning taxpayer dollars by the fist full while they stalk state residents, conduct fly overs of property looking for animals to steal, and send SWAT teams out on the smallest pretense.   After all, they need to justify the budgets of these overgrown little boy's clubs and their tactical outfits and wanna-be military gear.

Nothing here is surprising to veteran animal owners. The State of Ohio under hated and horrible Governor Kasich signed a deal with the number one animal rights extremist organization in America, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), called the Buckeye Compromise. Under this deal, HSUS agreed to temporarily stop attacking Ohio's farmers and instead concentrate their fire power on exotic owners. The elite Progressives do not believe people have the right to own animals, any animals. Exotics are just low hanging fruit in their campaign to remove all animals from our lives.

Just before despised Governor Kasich suspended his failed and useless Presidential campaign, supporters of Tiger Ridge went to one of his rallies to confront him in person.  When his staff saw buttons and shirts for Tiger Ridge, they forced the people to leave.  

Surprising no one, ODA continues to burn Ohio taxpayer dollars by the fist full and filed multiple frivolous motions to block the return of the 10 stolen Stump Hill animals.

"The state is challenging Forchione's authority in the matter, arguing the Department of Agriculture has the authority in the case, not the county.

"That court patently lacks jurisdiction to act because ... oversight of dangerous wild animals is committed to special statutory proceedings before the Department," according to the motion.

State Department of Agriculture officials and local law enforcement removed the animals May 4 from 6633 Klick Road SW, after obtaining a search warrant signed by Forchione. The animals were taken to the state's holding facility in Reynoldsburg."

There is nothing funnier than a bureaucrat for shear audacity, while they whine, moan and hand wring about "public safety."   Let me explain. These paper pushers went to the courtroom of Judge Forchione and then lied to gain an illegal search warrant.  Once Judge Forchione found out that they lied to him, he issued a ruling that ordered ODA to return the animals.  Now ODA is whining that Forchione has no authority in this case. Really? If he has no authority, then why did ODA go to him to get the illegal search warrant in the first place?

As for public safety, the thugs of ODA are so incompetent at animal care that they not only bungled the Tiger Ridge raid as I covered in this article and several others I've written on the ODA, but they also killed Leo, the beloved lion of Tiger Ridge.  The only people threatening the safety of the public are the employees of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.