There’s a new plan to capture the zebras that are roaming Upper Marlboro, Maryland, after getting loose from a Prince George’s County farm.
Initially, it was reported that five zebras had escaped, but a county Department of the Environment spokesperson Linda Lowe said the owner reported that three zebras got loose. One of those zebras died after being caught in a snare last month. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police are investigating the placement of the snares.
The owner and the caretaker are currently keeping two of the zebras from the herd in an enclosure in the center of a corral. The plan is to use food and the other zebras to attract the loose zebras into a corral, so they can be returned to the herd, Lowe said in a statement.
Veterinarians from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and county Department of the Environment staff agreed with the owner’s plans, saying that it is currently “the best approach proposed” and posed the least risk to the two zebras at large.
The director of the county’s Department of the Environment said the priority is capturing the zebras and returning them to the herd. Anyone who spots the zebras should report it to PGC311.
“Once this is accomplished, the County will conduct a further investigation, and any actions including any appropriate charges against the owner will be evaluated,” Department of the Environment Director Andrea L. Crooms said in a statement.
Several news outlets identified the zebra’s owner as Jerry Holly, a breeder and trader of exotic animals. He is known in the exotic animal trade and to animal welfare advocates, DCist reported.
