DECATUR, Ill. (AP) -- TV personality and former Columbus Zoo director Jack Hanna says the deaths of dozens of animals in Zanesville, Ohio, last week will stay with him forever.

Hanna talked to the Herald and Review in Decatur ( http://bit.ly/oMxfe3 ) backstage before a Sunday appearance in central Illinois. Hanna says he'll likely spend the rest of his life opening his speeches "talking about what happened in Zanesville."

Authorities were forced to shoot and kill dozens of exotic animals, including rare Bengal tigers and lions. Their owner released the animals from their cages before shooting himself. Hanna says he has to "live with what happened for the rest of my life."

He says he's trying to explain to animal lovers that Ohio authorities had no other option.

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Information from: Herald & Review, http://www.herald-review.com