Discussing
Dominion, destruction and the exotic animals of Ohio

Excellent post, Jeff, thank you for addressing the animal stewardship dynamics of this recent tragedy in Ohio with such biblical faithfulness and poignancy. best wishes, Ben (not one sparrow, a Christian voice for animals)

What I found most distressing about this incident is the complete lack of introspection.  A lot of animals died needlessly, and a man committed suicide.  However, the newstories I've seen about the incident waste time hand-wringing about whether or not people should be allowed to keep exotic pets, while ignoring the obvious point that these animals would be safely home right now except a suicidal man let them free. 

The real question is, what drove this man to commit such a desparate act?  He wouldn't have collected all these animals and cared for them all these years unless he loved them.  But again, the newspaper articles I saw barely mentioned the IRS audits or focused on the fact that he was trading guns for animals, indirectly admitting that the Feds were tracking his gun purchases.

The most likely explanation is that he was driven to this act by a remorseless government.

But instead of asking questions, we immediately demand that the government fix a problem it created.  We demand that it become even bigger and more instrusive.

Sadly, a lot more such incidents are going to occur because we can't think deeply enough about them to discover the real root.