They are what is left of what was once the world's largest private zoo — a menagerie of camels, kangaroos, emus and giraffes that roamed the estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Last week three zebras — a buck, a mare and a yearling — escaped from Hearst Ranch and wandered over to nearby Cambria.
Hearst Zebras Killed by Angry Neighbors
On Jan. 5, when two of the three turned up on David Fiscalini's cattle ranch, he raised his shotgun and killed them. A neighboring rancher shot the third zebra.
Fiscalini told the San Luis Obispo Tribune that the two zebras that got onto his property had spooked his horses.
The incident has pitted local preservationists against those who say ranchers have the right to defend their livestock. It made the front page of the local newspaper Wednesday.
Fanning the controversy were reports of Fiscalini's actions the day after the shooting, when he called a local taxidermist out to the ranch and said he needed one of the zebras skinned and its hide tanned. "He wants to make a rug," said Rosemary Anderson, the taxidermist's wife. "You can't believe the controversy."
Hearst Zebras Killed by Angry Neighbors
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