Woman saves orphaned baby deer - Ohio government wants to euthanize it and put her in jail!
- by: D Putilin
- recipient: The Honorable Governor Strickland
An orphaned deer in Ohio was rescued by a compassionate woman about three weeks ago, who took it to her home in Kentucky. The fawn was crying continuously, so the woman started to bottle feed it. The local community decided to find a permanent home for the fawn and started e-mailing friends to find a suitable permanent home for it. Finally a rescue and rehabilitation farm for wild animals in Kentucky was identified and the fawn was sent to the farm. This was where this charming story turns into an example of "no good deed goes unpunished."
The woman who rescued the deer was informed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife that the faun had to be returned to the wild (presumably so that it could die a natural death by starvation). After the division of Wildlife was not able to intimidate the woman into doing this, they then started threatening her with 60 days jail time and a fine unless the fawn was handed over to them so that they can euthanize it and do post-mortem tests for diseases on it. They contend that she has broken the law by (1) removing the fawn from it's natural habitat instead of leaving nature to run it's course and (2) transported the deer over state borders.
I ask members to please petition the Ohio State govenor to stop this persecution of a good samaritan, and to rather use it's financial resources to test the baby deer while it is alive, and should it come back disease free to release it either to the farm where it is currently happy, or release it , after it has been weaned, into a sanctuary.
Your support is needed urgently!
The woman who rescued the deer was informed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife that the faun had to be returned to the wild (presumably so that it could die a natural death by starvation). After the division of Wildlife was not able to intimidate the woman into doing this, they then started threatening her with 60 days jail time and a fine unless the fawn was handed over to them so that they can euthanize it and do post-mortem tests for diseases on it. They contend that she has broken the law by (1) removing the fawn from it's natural habitat instead of leaving nature to run it's course and (2) transported the deer over state borders.
I ask members to please petition the Ohio State govenor to stop this persecution of a good samaritan, and to rather use it's financial resources to test the baby deer while it is alive, and should it come back disease free to release it either to the farm where it is currently happy, or release it , after it has been weaned, into a sanctuary.
Your support is needed urgently!
Dear Governor Strickland,
You may have heard about the ongoing story of a well-intentioned woman in Ohio who saved an orphaned baby deer recently. The deer had been crying continuously under a bush on a friend's farm; she fed it and took it to a sanctuary for wild animals in Kentucky. For her action, she has become the target of a campaign of threats and persecution by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Her crime: "transporting a deer across state lines," with "fear of spreading disease"cited as the cause of the harassment that ensued. First, the Division of Wildlife official ordered that the fawn be returned to the wild, presumably to die of starvation. Now, they want the baby deer, currently living on a sanctuary for rescued wild animals in Kentucky, returned to them so they can euthanize it and test it for diseases. Every communication has been accompanied by threats of steep fines and jail time for noncompliance.
On its own, this may be a small matter not worthy of your attention. However, it has provoked a considerable public outcry across the United States as a perfect example of misgovernment in America: an out of control bureaucracy bent on flexing its muscle against ordinary citizens who are not doing any actual harm. In doing so, the Division of Wildlife has shown a shocking lack of concern with common sense, sensitivity, or anything other than its own rules and regulations, as indicated by their unreasonable and ham-fisted demands and threats throughout. Surely deer cross state lines on their own all the time, and in their thousands? And surely in 2009 an animal, especially a docile one like a baby deer, can be tested for diseases without being killed first? Finally, is there really no better use for taxpayer money than to spend it on weeks of bullying a woman who is doing nothing more than trying to save an orphaned baby animal?
A recently conducted poll by the TV station WLWT found that 95% of responders believe the Ohio Division of Wildlife is pursuing the wrong course of action. In a democracy where the government is supposed to represent the will of the people, something has clearly gone wrong when 95% of the people oppose the government's action.
We, the undersigned are petitioning you as the Governor of the great state of Ohio in the hope that, with a single phone call, you will be able to put this public relations disaster to a swift end. Within our current financial crisis, it would surely be more cost-effective to test the baby deer for diseases without euthanizing it and return it to the animal sanctuary where it is currently living, rather than spend weeks persecuting a good Samaritan. If a small fraction of the effort expended on this issue so far had been used to come up with a compassionate and humane solution, rather than the easy by-the-book answer, the matter could have been quickly resolved to everyone's satisfaction and would have never made it into the news. We sincerely thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionYou may have heard about the ongoing story of a well-intentioned woman in Ohio who saved an orphaned baby deer recently. The deer had been crying continuously under a bush on a friend's farm; she fed it and took it to a sanctuary for wild animals in Kentucky. For her action, she has become the target of a campaign of threats and persecution by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Her crime: "transporting a deer across state lines," with "fear of spreading disease"cited as the cause of the harassment that ensued. First, the Division of Wildlife official ordered that the fawn be returned to the wild, presumably to die of starvation. Now, they want the baby deer, currently living on a sanctuary for rescued wild animals in Kentucky, returned to them so they can euthanize it and test it for diseases. Every communication has been accompanied by threats of steep fines and jail time for noncompliance.
On its own, this may be a small matter not worthy of your attention. However, it has provoked a considerable public outcry across the United States as a perfect example of misgovernment in America: an out of control bureaucracy bent on flexing its muscle against ordinary citizens who are not doing any actual harm. In doing so, the Division of Wildlife has shown a shocking lack of concern with common sense, sensitivity, or anything other than its own rules and regulations, as indicated by their unreasonable and ham-fisted demands and threats throughout. Surely deer cross state lines on their own all the time, and in their thousands? And surely in 2009 an animal, especially a docile one like a baby deer, can be tested for diseases without being killed first? Finally, is there really no better use for taxpayer money than to spend it on weeks of bullying a woman who is doing nothing more than trying to save an orphaned baby animal?
A recently conducted poll by the TV station WLWT found that 95% of responders believe the Ohio Division of Wildlife is pursuing the wrong course of action. In a democracy where the government is supposed to represent the will of the people, something has clearly gone wrong when 95% of the people oppose the government's action.
We, the undersigned are petitioning you as the Governor of the great state of Ohio in the hope that, with a single phone call, you will be able to put this public relations disaster to a swift end. Within our current financial crisis, it would surely be more cost-effective to test the baby deer for diseases without euthanizing it and return it to the animal sanctuary where it is currently living, rather than spend weeks persecuting a good Samaritan. If a small fraction of the effort expended on this issue so far had been used to come up with a compassionate and humane solution, rather than the easy by-the-book answer, the matter could have been quickly resolved to everyone's satisfaction and would have never made it into the news. We sincerely thank you for your attention to this matter.
See more petitions:
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.