The Ohio Department of Agriculture has transferred the exotic animals removed from Tiger Ridge Exotics to three out-of-state wildlife sanctuaries, ODA stated in court filings Tuesday.

The 10 animals were sent last week to facilities in Arizona, South Dakota, and Florida while their owner Kenneth Hetrick and the state resolve a case in Wood County Common Pleas Court regarding their care, according to a notice filed in that court.

A liger and a cougar were transferred to Keepers of the Wild in Valentine, Ariz. Three tigers and a leopard went to Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla., and three tigers and a Kodiak bear went to Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Spearfish, S.D.

Transfers began Aug. 27 and all animals have arrived at the respective facilities, said ODA spokesman Erica Hawkins. The state continues to have custody of the animals and is contracting with the sanctuaries for temporary care.

The animals had been in a state facility in Reynoldsburg, near Columbus. State agents seized the animals, along with a lion that has since died, on Jan. 28 from the Stony Ridge property because Mr. Hetrick had not obtained a permit to keep the animals as required by state law. The lion was killed in April because of health problems.

“The department has always been very clear that the Reynoldsburg facility was designed to provide high-quality but temporary care,” Ms. Hawkins said in a statement, adding that the animals are “acclimating very, very well to their new environments.”

Ms. Hawkins said that Mr. Hetrick’s attorney has been notified. Mr. Hetrick said he learned about the animals’ transfer during a call from a reporter. Mr. Hetrick said the move is against the law and the animals should not have been moved out of state before the case was settled.

“Before I even get to defend myself, they move my animals, and that's not right,” he said. “Instead of returning them where they belong, they shipped them all over the place.”

Mr. Hetrick filed an emergency motion in June calling for the animals to be returned to Tiger Ridge while the case continues because the state facility was not suited for long-term care. ODA officials agreed that the Reynoldsburg site was meant to be temporary but said the animals were in good health while they were there.

In an Aug. 14 order by Judge Reeve Kelsey, the court ruled against Mr. Hetrick’s emergency motion, finding “the inadequacies of the ODA holding facility do not rise to the level of requiring the immediate return of the animals to Tiger Ridge.”

Mr. Hetrick has four appeals pending regarding the seizure and transfer of his animals, one in Franklin County and three in Wood County.

Contact Lauren Lindstrom at llindstrom@theblade.com, 419-724-6154, or on Twitter @lelindstrom.

First Published September 2, 2015, 4:00 a.m.