Deadline For Exotic Animal Registration

Ohioans who own exotic animals face a deadline to register their wildlife.

If they don't register animals by today, they could face a first-degree misdemeanor charge for a first offense, and a fifth-degree felony for any subsequent offenses. The new registration requirements come after an Ohio man released 50 animals, including black bears, mountain lions and Bengal tigers, from his eastern Ohio farm in Zanesville in October 2011. He then committed suicide. Authorities killed 48 of the animals for public safety, and two others were believed to have been eaten by other animals. A new Ohio law now requires owners to tell the state how many animals they have, where they are and who their veterinarian is, among other details.