Home of Ezekiel Elliott’s dad searched over exotic animal

Ohio Department of Agriculture investigators searched the property of the father of former Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott on Wednesday, after a serval cat with a collar was shot nearby.

Stacy Elliott, who lives on the 7400 block of Basilwestern Road NW in Violet Township, lives adjacent to the neighborhood where the serval cat was killed by a Fairfield County deputy Sunday.

Sheriff’s office dispatchers received a call Sunday afternoon that a bobcat was attacking the caller’s dog, said detective David Maple. When deputies arrived, they saw the cat, felt threatened by it and shot it. The dog survived the attack, officials said.

The cat was identified by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as a serval, a species of wild cat native to Africa. Servals stand about a foot tall and have small heads, large ears, spotted and striped coats, long legs and black-tipped tails.

The serval’s body was recovered and later brought to the Agriculture Department for a necropsy.

Serval owners are required to have a permit for the animals because they are listed as a “dangerous wild animal” under the Ohio Revised Code. There are no servals kept with a The serval cat is native to Africa and considered a dangerous wild animal that requires a special permit to own in Ohio. permit in Fairfield County, said department spokeswoman Shelby Croft.

Agents searched Elliott’s property Thursday and took pictures for their investigation, Croft said. Agriculture Department officials didn’t say specifically why they went to Elliott’s home, except to say there was “significant evidence” that the cat was his.

Under state law, it’s a first-degree misdemeanor to have a wild animal without a permit, and a fifth-degree felony to intentionally release an exotic animal and allow it to escape, Croft said. No charges have been filed against Elliott.

Elliott worked as an aide to former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer from 2015 to 2017. He is the CEO of Fifth Down Enterprises, which describes itself as a sports-management agency focusing on empowering athletes. His son now plays for the Dallas Cowboys.