Guest Blog by George Washington University Animal Law Professor Joan Schaffner
Last month near Condon, Montana, two people witnessed a hit-and-run accident where four deer were struck by a car. The two stopped to pull the body of one of the deer off the road only to find that a fawn that had been in utero had been expelled from his mother in the accident. The pair rescued the fawn and took him to their home. Because he was breathing very well and already trying to stand up, they took the fawn to a companion animal rescue in Eureka, where he managed to take a bit of food, then curled up and went to sleep in a laundry basket with one of the resident dogs. Given his amazing story of survival, the fawn was named, Lucky.
Unfortunately for Lucky, the pair next decided to do what they felt was the right thing: They called the game warden with the Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to see if there were a rescue/rehabilitation location that could help Lucky.
The next day the warden came to take Lucky – not to help him, but to kill him. Although his then-guardians pled with the warden for more than an hour, the warden explained that FWP’s policy left him no discretion, that all orphaned deer must be killed as a matter of policy. Lucky was put to death.
FWP policy dictates that all orphaned deer (and certain other animals) who are not able to be returned to the wild be killed. Although there is a wildlife rehabilitation center in Helena, Montana, the center refuses to take in bats, skunks, raccoons, elk, moose and deer “under any circumstances, due to risks related to disease, public health and welfare.” This refusal is dictated by state policy for hooved animals that “prohibits the rehabilitation of ungulates at the centralized Wildlife Center in Helena or by any third party.”
FWP claims that, “The policy is necessary because Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that affects deer and elk, is spreading in the United States and Canada. Although it has yet to be documented in wild populations in Montana, CWD is found in nearby states and provinces, and an infected animal could spread CWD from a holding center back into the wild.” But that excuse doesn’t wash. FWP “tested more than 1,300 deer, elk and moose collected during the 2010-2011 hunting season and did not detect chronic wasting disease in any of the animals.”
In fact, there have been no reported cases of CWD in Montana and a test exists to detect it. FWP policy could simply be that all rescued animals be tested for CWD.
Lucky was born under very tragic circumstances, yet was miraculously saved by caring Montanans – only to be indefensibly killed by the government.
Lucky isn’t the first baby deer to be killed needlessly. But we can try to ensure that he is one of the last. His tragedy should be a call for reform so that his death will not have been in vain.
Please sign the petition to the Montana FWP asking them to reconsider this policy and develop one that does not falsely protect public health at the expense of innocent, orphaned wildlife. You can do so at http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-killing-orphaned-deer.
Last month near Condon, Montana, two people witnessed a hit-and-run accident where four deer were struck by a car. The two stopped to pull the body of one of the deer off the road only to find that a fawn that had been in utero had been expelled from his mother in the accident. The pair rescued the fawn and took him to their home. Because he was breathing very well and already trying to stand up, they took the fawn to a companion animal rescue in Eureka, where he managed to take a bit of food, then curled up and went to sleep in a laundry basket with one of the resident dogs. Given his amazing story of survival, the fawn was named, Lucky.
Unfortunately for Lucky, the pair next decided to do what they felt was the right thing: They called the game warden with the Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to see if there were a rescue/rehabilitation location that could help Lucky.
The next day the warden came to take Lucky – not to help him, but to kill him. Although his then-guardians pled with the warden for more than an hour, the warden explained that FWP’s policy left him no discretion, that all orphaned deer must be killed as a matter of policy. Lucky was put to death.
FWP policy dictates that all orphaned deer (and certain other animals) who are not able to be returned to the wild be killed. Although there is a wildlife rehabilitation center in Helena, Montana, the center refuses to take in bats, skunks, raccoons, elk, moose and deer “under any circumstances, due to risks related to disease, public health and welfare.”[1] This refusal is dictated by state policy for hooved animals that “prohibits the rehabilitation of ungulates[2] at the centralized Wildlife Center in Helena or by any third party.”[3]
FWP claims that, “The policy is necessary because Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease that affects deer and elk, is spreading in the United States and Canada. Although it has yet to be documented in wild populations in Montana, CWD is found in nearby states and provinces, and an infected animal could spread CWD from a holding center back into the wild.”[4] But that excuse doesn’t wash. FWP “tested more than 1,300 deer, elk and moose collected during the 2010-2011 hunting season and did not detect chronic wasting disease in any of the animals.”[5]
In fact, there have been no reported cases of CWD in Montana and a test exists to detect it. FWP policy could simply be that all rescued animals be tested for CWD.
Lucky was born under very tragic circumstances, yet was miraculously saved by caring Montanans – only to be indefensibly killed by the government.
Lucky isn’t the first baby deer to be killed needlessly. But we can try to ensure that he is one of the last. His tragedy should be a call for reform so that his death will not have been in vain.
Please sign this petition to the Montana FWP asking them to reconsider this policy and develop one that does not falsely protect public health at the expense of innocent, orphaned wildlife.
[1] Montana FWP Policy on Intake, Rehabilitation, Holding and Disposition of Wildlife (Jan. 2010, Dave Risley, Administrator, Fish and Wildlife Division).
[2] Hooved, generally herbivorous, four-legged mammals.
[3] Montana FWP, Ungulate Euthanasia Policy (2005) (emphasis added).
[4] Montana FWP, If You Care, Leave Young Animals There, http://fwp.mt.gov/news/newsReleases/fishAndWildlife/nr_0266.html
[5] Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, CWD Not Found in MT Wild Game (June 3, 2011) at http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/news.detail/ID/e59fd8acfd31faaa69d79b656607d0a9, emphasis added.