“There was no choice but to kill 49 animals, including tigers, lions and bears, that were released from their enclosures in Zanesville, Ohio, wildlife expert Jack Hanna told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer. “I’m sorry to say, but what the sheriff did had to be done,” Hanna said. “Otherwise, we would have had carnage out here in Zanesville, Ohio. “Tragedy-wise for me,” he added, “[it’s] probably the worst thing in 45 years of history of working with animals. … I’ve seen poachers kill in the wild. I’ve seen animals killed right in front of me with their horns cut off. I’ve seen a lot of things happen in my career, but nothing like this have I ever witnessed.” Hanna said tranquilizing wild animals is not as easy as many people believe. “I’ve been out all over the world tranquilizing animals,” he said. “Can you imagine trying to tranquilize an animal in the dark. Fine, we have a spotlight. We hit it. You don’t know exactly: Did you hit a muscle? Did you hit a bone? If you hit the bone, the plunger might not work and put the medicine in. So what do we do? Then we send a veterinarian or the sheriff up there to see if the animal is down, right? What’s gonna happen if the animal is just sitting there not even asleep? You’re dead.”” – ABC
