Jessie Balmert

jbalmert@enquirer.com

COLUMBUS - Should someone go to jail when an endangered animal is killed because of carelessness?

A group of more than 106,000 people online say "yes." State Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-North Avondale, says "maybe."

Thomas is looking into whether Ohio needs a law to impose fines or criminal charges on anyone who causes the death of an endangered animal due to negligence. He is responding to an online Change.org petition, started by an Illinois woman, who wants someone to be held responsible for the death of the gorilla, Harambe.

Harambe, a 17-year-old, 450-pound western lowland gorilla, was shot by members of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's dangerous animal response team on Saturday. The gorilla was shot after a 3-year-old boy fell into the gorilla's enclosure, and staff feared for the boy's safety.

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"No one wants to see any harm come to a human visiting the zoo, but this entire tragedy could have been avoided, had this little boy been properly supervised," according to the petition, which has collected more than 106,000 signatures in two days.

Thomas said his staff is investigating whether current law already covers the deaths of endangered animals. If not, he might draft a proposal to hold those people accountable either civilly or criminally.

"A possibility could be criminal charges, depending on the act itself," Thomas said.

But Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, said that would be an overreaction. No one should face jail time for Saturday's tragic accident, he added.

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Current state law likely would allow zoo officials to sue the family if their negligence caused Harambe's death. But it's not clear exactly what happened, and it's unlikely that the zoo would sue them, Seitz said.

"Every strange or sad case in life does not warrant a new law," Seitz said. "This is how we got to prisons overflowing. Life is not free of tragedies and accidents."

After a man released dozens of exotic animals from his farm near Zanesville, lawmakers enacted several restrictions on dangerous animals, including requiring permits for each one and keeping them properly enclosed. But these laws do not apply to zoos, and none address what happens when a dangerous or endangered animal is shot due to human carelessness, Ohio Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Erica Hawkins said.

Neither the National Conference of State Legislatures nor The Humane Society of the United States were familiar with states imposing criminal penalties for accidental deaths of endangered animals.

The Change.org petition asked both Thomas and Rep. Denise Driehaus, D-Clifton Heights, to pursue legislation.

Driehaus, who is running for Hamilton County commissioner, said she has requested more information from Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard before making any decisions.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to say the boy is 3 years old. Police said late Tuesday they had received "conflicting reports" on the boy's age but confirmed Tuesday that he is 3.