New rules banning the sale and ownership of exotic pets could put an end to Ohio’s wild history of regulatory gaps.

The promised rules are the result of an agreement Gov. Ted Strickland brokered between the Humane Society of the United States and farm groups to keep an animal welfare initiative off the November ballot. The rules will grandfather current pets but they won’t allow replacement or breeding.

Strickland’s agreement indicates animals banned will at least include “big cats, bears, primates, large constricting and venomous snakes and alligators and crocodiles.”

In the Miami Valley, runaway or out-of-control beasts created a second career for now retired Oakwood police officer Tim Harrison. A documentary on his exploits corralling cougars, hyenas, snakes, reptiles and bears, titled “The Elephant in the Living Room,” was released this year and will be shown at The Neon in Dayton the first week of October.

Harrison, 54, of Springboro said the subculture of exotic animal ownership has been fueled by reality television and naive people with illusions they can control dangerous animals, creating a deadly situation in Ohio. “You can buy a cobra, but you can’t buy common sense,” he said.

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