A man is asking a court to order his six tigers and other exotic animals returned to Ohio after they were seized by the state and moved from a holding facility to sanctuaries elsewhere.
In a filing Tuesday, Kenny Hetrick's attorney says Ohio's Department of Agriculture overstepped its authority last month by relocating the animals to facilities in Arizona, Florida and South Dakota without notifying him. He wants them returned to the state holding facility in Reynoldsburg or to his property in Stony Ridge near Toledo. The filing says the department violated its own transfer order and his constitutional rights by moving the animals again. A department spokesperson has said they were moved for their benefit after they spent seven months in the holding facility and it became clear they needed more space.