Dude, this sort of thing is really really bad for public relations...
The real issue here is not wether it is a good idea to rehabilitate baby fawns from the wild (state wildlife officials are right it is generally a bad idea to do it), but why state officials are so enamored with power that they think it is appropriate to grand stand a SWAT raid on an animal shelter over an issue such as this. How much manpower and time went into this case? What seriously would have been the harm in allowing this deer to be raised at some zoo in Illinois?
It is called prosecutorial/administrative discretion. Sometimes it is better to let one go...
The supervisor who approved this should be fired for lacking any sense of proportion, judgment, and common sense.
Update:
More at The Blaze
A lot of commentators are fired up over this Florida woman arrested for selling fresh lobster tails out of season. Some fish and wildlife official saw her ad on craigslist and arrested her after buying $250 worth of tail (the craiglist jokes just write themselves sometimes). But with those limited facts in the story, that seems like what fish and wildlife should do. This is not some person legally catching fish and selling it, this is one having and selling fresh lobsters out of season.
Zero Dark Giggles
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| Giggles, RIP |
It is called prosecutorial/administrative discretion. Sometimes it is better to let one go...
The supervisor who approved this should be fired for lacking any sense of proportion, judgment, and common sense.
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| Bambi does not approve! |
More at The Blaze
A lot of commentators are fired up over this Florida woman arrested for selling fresh lobster tails out of season. Some fish and wildlife official saw her ad on craigslist and arrested her after buying $250 worth of tail (the craiglist jokes just write themselves sometimes). But with those limited facts in the story, that seems like what fish and wildlife should do. This is not some person legally catching fish and selling it, this is one having and selling fresh lobsters out of season.
Zero Dark Giggles
And very much running the risk a human being could be shot and killed. What is it with these yahoo cops and government agencies executing 'comply or die' raids, anyway? Brian Bates
ReplyDeleteIf it is such a big public policy issue--go sue the animal shelter. I do not see the big deal. I get Wisconsin does not want people raising orphaned deer, but dealing with this like it is the French Connection heroin operation is not wise.
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ReplyDeleteIt is insane. I get that Wisconsin wants to discourage any people rescuing fawns (especially since most fawns are not abandoned, their mothers often leave them for hours). But this was a case where they absolutely did not need to do what they did. It is insane, dangerous, and just about power.
DeleteThe phone was going to a nature reserve though.
DeleteThe next day.
Had to disappear that former remark, spoken in anger. I've edited it to read:
DeleteI have no use for the "environmental" pseudo cops who made this raid and killed this fawn. Ignorance of nature is no excuse, and these asshole has an abundance of it. A wolf may kill it for food, man kills it for no good reason in this case. I stand with the wolf, not the men. Where once I supported all the wildlife organizations, now I hate them, every last one of them...all fund raising, no wildlife care taking. I've been a part of rescuing a wild fawn [mother killed on the road] in the past couple years...and I would have killed anyone who attempted to interfere. The fawn is today running wild and free in Montana.
EBL is right about good intentioned people interfering with wildlife if they aren't familiar with the behaviors of said wildlife. You can do damage, or worse, get yourself killed in some instances. I've spent enough time in wilderness areas to know what I don't know. I am very careful, for myself and for the critters around me.
All that weapons training finally paid off. What a rush they must have felt. No critical thought or logic required. It's such a bonus when you love your job and get to kill something every now and then. Wisconsin must be proud of these manly men.
ReplyDeleteThey love hitting soft targets. It makes them feel powerful.
DeleteKeep in mind this is IL.
ReplyDeleteAnything they do has to be in line with what Big Al and Frank The Enforcer would have done.
State law, doncha know.
It was in Kenosha, WI. The deer was scheduled to be shipped to sanctuary in Illinois (sort of ironic).
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