Indiana police officer, wife could face jail time for saving a deer

[DainBramaged]

Should an Indiana couple go to jail for saving an injured deer?

That’s the question surrounding the case of Jeff and Jennifer Counceller, who rescued an injured fawn and nursed it back to health at their Connersville home. The couple now faces the possibility of jail time and fines after state officials charged them with a misdemeanor for harboring the animal.

Jeff Counceller, a police officer in Connersville, and his wife were charged with unlawful possession of a deer, a misdemeanor that punished to its fullest extent could put the Councellers in jail for up to 60 days and cost them up to $2,000 in fines.

The couple rescued the deer more than two years ago after finding it on their neighbor’s porch. The Councellers said the deer had sustained injuries, and they wanted to nurse it back to health.

“I could feel all of the open wounds all along her back side and she wouldn’t stand up,” Jennifer Counceller told ABC News.

They brought the deer home and named her Little Orphan Dani.

The Councellers said an Indiana Conservation Officer stopped by their home and discovered the deer this past summer. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources wanted to euthanize Dani, saying she might be dangerous and a threat to people.


http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/indiana-police-officer-wife-could-face-jail-time-for-saving-a-deer


the stupid it burns

[Separation]

1. .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022278460

[Helen Reddy]

2. Humans doing good. n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Omigod.

[DainBramaged]

4. ......

[immoderate]

5. They should fine him a dollar.

He broke the law.

And they should reduce the charge so it doesn't harm his record.

--imm

[SailorMike]

6. Well

you would think that a LEO would know the law.

The right thing to do would have been to turn the deer over to either animal control or the game warden for professional rehab.

[DainBramaged]

7. Well at least this isn't a gun related thread.....

[0rganism]

9. could make it one so easily...

Not legal to possess a deer, but owning.... things that kill deer... is protected by the constitution and certain high profile lobbying organizations.

[forestpath]

8. This is so horrible. WTF are they hurting?! I love deer....

[GoneOffShore]

10. No good deed goes unpunished. Unfortunately.

[yodermon]

11. Request a jury trial. n/t

[Daemonaquila]

12. No, not stupid.

They MEANT well, but they also screwed up by taking in the animal rather than bringing it to a rehabilitation facility. They shouldn't face charges for doing this, but I'm glad someone isn't just shrugging it off.

Having worked at such facilities, I've seen the damage done to animals by such well-meaning folk. If a wild animal is properly cared for, it can return to the wild. If it is imprinted by humans, its fate is questionable at best. If it has no idea how to be a wild critter in its environment, it's unreleasable except to die of starvation or at human hands because its behaviors cause it to interact inappropriately with people. Poor medicine (people don't generally take illegally kept wild critters to the vet) and wrong diets kill and cripple. Want tragedy? Look at what happens to a young bird of prey that isn't fed correctly, as its bones either become goo and deform, then harden up eventually into crippled mess, or it even dies as its skeleton fractures under its own weight.

An officer has no excuse for this. He should have all the access in the world to get info on where to take an injured animal. A call to the game warden, or the state fish & wildlife folks, should put him in contact with various facilities and licensed rehabilitators. While it seems like a case of overzealous prosecution, don't make this out as an example that "no good deed goes unpunished." It's wonderful to save a wild animal, but it's not ok to then basically make it your cool wild animal pet.

[Jamastiene]

14. You bring up a very good point.

Sometimes, even with the best intentions, we humans can do more harm than good. They should have taken it to those who know how to get an animal well, then set it free to live the rest of its life. It's hard to do the right thing, but that is the right thing, when you really stop and think about the long term effects on the animal.

[kwolf68]

13. Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Sounds like a bunch of dolts.

We don't want to 'personalize' deer...stuff like Bambi or THIS is bad for business.

So you can't own a deer? So how in the hell do people own tigers, large snakes, wolf hybrids?

The stupid it does burn.

As far as the reality of the deer...if the injuries were sustained because of human involvement, then I believe it our moral duty to help it. If naturally inflicted then I am less inclined to help it.