STONY RIDGE – The civil case to return 13 seized animals back to Tiger Ridge Exotics is continuing – at
least until August.
However, the animals will be staying in state custody, for now.
In papers filed last week, Wood County Judge Reeve Kelsey issued an order denying a motion by the Ohio
Department of Agriculture to dismiss the case.
The ODA had previously argued that the Wood County court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.
A permanent injunction hearing has been set for Aug. 18 at 8:30 a.m.
This continues an ongoing legal fight between Tiger Ridge owner Kenny Hetrick and the ODA over custody of
the animals – six tigers, two lions, a black leopard, a bobcat, a brown bear, a cougar and a lion –
which began when the animals were seized Jan. 28. The seizure came after the state denied Hetrick a
mandated permit for the facility, located on Fremont Pike.
Kelsey subsequently issued an order for the animals to be returned in a timeframe conducive to their
health, which has been contested by the ODA.
The episode has evolved into a legal back-and-forth between the parties that even included a failed
appeals case on the part of the ODA. The animals have remained at a state facility in Reynoldsburg since
their seizure.
"As the court finds that (Tiger Ridge owner Kenny) Hetrick’s complaint does not involve an area over
which the ODA has exclusive jurisdiction, this court has jurisdiction to determine the issues,"
Kelsey wrote in his order, filed on Thursday.
However, Kelsey also determined that, though the court has jurisdiction, it would not exercise that
jurisdiction to return the animals at this time, because the harm to Hetrick, in the form of the animals
being seized, has already occurred.
"Initially the court ordered the animals returned, but the (ODA) refused to return them (ostensibly
because it was concerned for the animals’ health and safety), and the animals remain at the ODA’s
holding facility. By the time Mr. Hetrick filed his amended complaint, there was no threat of immediate
and irreparable injury to Mr. Hetrick; the injury had already happened. … The court cannot issue a
temporary restraining order unless the harm will occur in the future."
The matter is further complicated by appeals filed by Hetrick with both the ODA and the Court of Common
Pleas of Franklin County.
"If different bodies order the animals moved multiple times, the chances of the animals needing to
be anesthetized multiple times increases, which puts them at increased risk of complications or
death," wrote Kelsey, noting "Mr. Hetrick’s legal battles are best pursued in one forum at a
time."
Another hearing scheduled for this week in the Franklin County matter has been postponed.