Do we really need a dozen cops to kill one baby deer?

[Savannahmann]

Agents of the Department of Natural Resources in Wisconsin executed a search warrant to investigate reports that a no kill animal shelter had in their possession, a Deer Fawn. This baby deer was brought in by a woman who believed that it had been abandoned by it's mother. So the animal shelter folks were raising the deer, and then were going to send it to a wildlife preserve in Illinois.

Two weeks ago, Schulze was working in the barn at the Society of St. Francis on the Kenosha-Illinois border when a swarm of squad cars arrived and officers unloaded with a search warrant.

&quot There were) nine DNR agents and four deputy sheriffs, and they were all armed to the teeth," Schulze said.

The focus of their search was a baby fawn brought there by an Illinois family worried she had been abandoned by her mother.

\

OK, so they've raided the dastardly people who dared to try and nurse an animal into adult hood where it could care for itself.

"I was thinking in my mind they were going to take the deer and take it to a wildlife shelter, and here they come carrying the baby deer over their shoulder. She was in a body bag," Schulze said. "I said, 'Why did you do that?' He said, 'That's our policy,' and I said, 'That's one hell of a policy.'"

so what does DNR say was the reason behind this? That baby fawn was a danger to the humans. Really. It was.

Supervisor Jennifer Niemeyer said the law requires the DNR agents to euthanize animals like Giggles because of the potential for disease and danger to humans.

http://www.wisn.com/news/armed-agents-raid-animal-shelter-for-baby-deer/-/9373668/21272108/-/item/1/-/13d8x2lz/-/index.html

Someone is a danger to humans, but I doubt that Giggles the fawn was it.

[Jenoch]

1. The biggest troublemakers in this story are the people who

caught the fawn and brought to the animal shelter. The doe was out feeding and the fawn was probably doing just fine. These are the same kind of people who 'rescue' a young robin because the mother 'abandonded' it.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. And what about the people who called and reported that the fawn was at the shelter?

What was their motive?

[Savannahmann]

4. The scenario is quite possible.

It is just as possible that the Mother had been struck by a car, been injured in some other way. Normally fawns that mobile will stay with Mother as they feed together. Some of the lessons are taught, not just instinctive.

However, my point remains. Was the fawn a danger to humans? Apparently not. Was the fawn in any way abused by the no kill shelter folks? I doubt it since even the Cops couldn't gin up enough circumstantial evidence to get an animal abuse charge filed. So it was merely that the fawn was alive in Wisconsin that the crime was going on. Who knew that being a fawn in Wisconsin was a death penalty offense?

[Jenoch]

14. Sure, it is possible

the doe was hit by a car. It is more likely that she was nearby and the fawn did not need to be 'rescued'.

The problem with humans raising a deer is that the deer grows up habituated to people. Even after it got to be a yearling, that deer would not have lasted 6 weeks once it was set free.

[X_Digger]

3. You are not a wildlife rehabilitator because you run an animal shelter.

There are diseases that can be passed from deer (or their ticks or fleas or scat) to humans, and diseases that can be passed from humans to deer.

[Savannahmann]

6. So the best answer is death?

And you need a bakers dozen cops to carry it out? Isn't that a bit excessive?

I know about the diseases that exist. I have to cats that were rescued as kittens. They had the parasite that comes from drinking water that has deer scat in it. It took more than six weeks to get them healthy from that. But don't expect me to slaughter any deer that happen to show up in my yard because of that experience.

[X_Digger]

10. No, if you find an abandoned fawn, leave it alone.

Chances are it's not actually abandoned.

If you can't do that, you call a wildlife rehabilitator who has had the appropriate vaccinations, knows the protocols for handling wildlife, and has an area that's appropriate for quarantining wildlife.

Dump a fawn that has a respiratory infection into a herd of deer, and you can be dooming some of them to painful death.

[Just Saying]

12. You're right.

I live in a wooded area surrounded by parks so we have deer in our yard all the time. It's very common to see a fawn, alone, wandering around the trees in my side yard or even sleeping in the back in the shade. They are left alone at times and since you don't know the situation, it's best to leave them alone.

I had thought about putting out food for them in the winter, but reading up on the subject I read that this is frowned upon because it encourages the spread of disease. Sometimes what we want to do to help does more harm than good.

They are beautiful animals and I hate that this fawn was killed.

[X_Digger]

13. *nod* Nothing quite like them.

When I was a kid, we had a multi-generational family that would pass through in the fall every year, and they'd spend a couple of days in the area.

They loved to root around the hog troughs my grandparents used to feed their hogs- the hogs couldn't get to the spilled grain on the other side of the trough, and my grandfather would always intentionally spill some for the groundhogs, squirrels, and chipmunks.

[Mojorabbit]

5. They should have transferred it to a wildlife rehabber

There was no need to kill it.

[Savannahmann]

7. Oh I agree that there were plenty of options.

Besides there is one little thing I intentionally left out to give the apologists time to explain the justifications of taking this action most of us would consider over the top.

In certain circumstances, Wisconsin allows organizations to house wild deer but only with a state-issued permit.

Read more: http://www.wisn.com/news/armed-agents-raid-animal-shelter-for-baby-deer/-/9373668/21272108/-/wvh1n7z/-/index.html#ixzz2ajwj97hd

So why didn't the DNR folks explain this, and help this shelter get the permit they would have needed to save the life of an animal? Because it's far more fun for the Cops to suit up and raid a house and then kill than it is to work with people and save lives.

[X_Digger]

11. Getting the permit likely involves training, vaccinations, and appropriate quarantine protocols.

I doubt it's just a piece of paper.

[MindPilot]

8. "the potential for disease..."

If that is the standard then there are a few dozen people at my work who need to be euthanized during flu season.

[joeybee12]

9. More cops than showed up when George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin...

Nice priorities.

Fuck the DNR