The state's plan to build a state facility to temporarily house exotic animals seized under the new exotic animal ban has some residents worried.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture is planning to build a facility in Reynoldsburg to hold the confiscated animals, potentially ranging from snakes to bears.
Chuck Williams can stand in his backyard and see where the state wants to house exotic animals.
"So, what happens if one gets loose out here?" Williams said. "Are they going to be out here shooting?"
Williams and other neighbors worry, especially when they think about the dozens of exotic animals that ran loose in Zanesville in October 2011.
"I have a grandson that comes up to see me every once in a while," Williams said. "I feel there's a safety issue there."
Williams said that the state planned the facility and did not contact neighbors until last week.
"They have to understand, yes it is state land, but who pays for that land? The taxpayers, " Etna Township trustee John Carlisle said. "We're taxpayers out here."
Carlisle is the president of the trustees in Etna Township, where the facility would go. The letter he received said that the facility "will have multiple layers of security" and "will be capable of safely housing numerous species of animals."
Carlisle said that he still feels left in the dark.
"We want to make sure that all the safeguards are in place so that the residents are not put in harm's way," Carlisle said.
In a statement, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said, "We are conscious there may be concerns regarding the facility. We are dedicated to protecting the safety of our neighbors in Licking County and citizens throughout Ohio."
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