OHIO Court rejects lion cub request

The actress said she is 'absolutely delighted' that the lion may arrive soon.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BERLIN CENTER -- The state Supreme Court rejected a sanctuary's request to keep a lion cub while it appeals lower court orders to give it up.
The court Friday denied Noah's Lost Ark's request not to have the 7th District Court's decision take effect while the appeal is pending.
Appeals to the state Supreme Court are not automatic. The court has not stated whether it will hear the appeal, and it is not known when that decision will be made.
Noah's Lost Ark is appealing a ruling made earlier this month by the 7th District Court of Appeals. That ruling affirmed the decision made by a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that the lion, about 11 months old, belongs to William Long of Upper Arlington.
& quot;I am gratified that the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in my favor," said Long. "I am not a lawyer, but it appears to me that Judge [Charles] Bannon's order to Noah's Lost Ark that they return the lion cub to me forthwith stands as the current authority and instruction on how to proceed in this case. & quot;
Judge Bannon could not be reached.
Debate
Long, an animal-rights activist, bought the cub in October as part of a news story on exotic-animal sales being done by the New York Post. Al Guart, a reporter working on the article, left the animal at Noah's Lost Ark of Berlin Center, an animal sanctuary. Long says the stay at Noah's was supposed to be temporary.
Sanctuary operators contend the cub was abandoned and left in its possession last fall, and that Long no longer owns the animal.
The appeals court decision states that the cub wasn't abandoned.
Long had purchased the animal with plans of having it transferred to Shambala, a California animal sanctuary run by actress Tippi Hedren.
In a lengthy written statement, Ellen Whitehouse, owner of Noah's Lost Ark, criticized Shambala and accused Long of taking part in a "publicity stunt."
Whitehouse said, that, in her opinion, "If they really cared about Boomerang [the cub] they would leave him here with his sister where he is thriving." The statement also said: "Our main concern has always been about the welfare of Boomerang. ... Boomerang is not just a piece of 'property,' he is a living being."
Hedren said Friday that she is "absolutely delighted" that the lion may soon be arriving at her sanctuary.
"This is where he was suppose to be," said Hedren. "Me and Mindhi, a tiger that is the same age as this little lion, are very excited that he may soon be here."
sinkovich@vindy.com