Wildlife in North Carolina belongs to all the citizens of the state and individual’s can not take wild animals as pets. MSNBC is reporting that a Gaston County family had a deer they found as a fawn and raised taken from them by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and euthanized because it had lost its natural fear of humans.
Patricia Sears says the deer she named “Bamm-Bamm” was her baby. She found him in her driveway as an injured fawn. She says she called a friend at an animal rescue group.
“He can’t walk,” Sears told her friend. “She said, ‘The mother will take care of it.’ And I thought, ‘I can’t do that (leave him).’”
Sears said she gave the deer food, milk and love. She tried to find someone to take him, but no one did.
“We just got so attached to him,” she said.
She also kept him inside. Bamm-Bamm’s bed was a real bed. One day, she says, she let him go.
“Sure enough, here he showed up,” she said.
He jingled keys when he wanted out. He followed the family around the farm. He visited neighbors.
Sears says animal control told her it was OK to keep the deer as long as it wasn’t confined.
Then, Sears says one of her neighbors must have called the wildlife department. They showed up and took Bamm-Bamm.
The day Sears failed to follow the direction of the animal rescue group she destined this deer for destruction. Wildlife is not the one in the wrong here it’s Ms.Sears and those like her that capture wildlife and domesticated it. Here in North Carolina there have been cases of individuals being attacked by “pet deer” often around the rut. This I believe is not an isolated case because at last nights hearing an individual asked about a similar situation and he was quickly directed to talk with the local wildlife officer about the specific situation. We also recently had the case of the Police Officer that was petting a deer and eventually moved this deer on his own which I believe was a clear violation of current laws here in the North Carolina.
Wildlife are not pets and people should leave them alone. Wildlife officials were doing what had to be done. While it maybe hard to watch a fawn die a number of them must each year so coyote pups and bear cubs can survive.
