Couple face charges for deer rescue

[Hum]

CONNERSVILLE, IN, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- An Indiana couple said authorities told them they could face jail time after they rescued an injured baby deer and nursed it back to health.

Jeff and Jennifer Counceller of Connersville said they found the fawn injured on their neighbor's porch more than two years ago and brought the animal to their home where they treated her wounds and nursed her back to health, ABC News reported Tuesday.

The couple said a conservation officer from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources came by their home during the summer and told them the state wanted to euthanize the deer, which they had dubbed Little Orphan Dani. The officer said Dani could be dangerous and a threat to humans. :huh:

"I was devastated. I spent a year and several months nursing her into adulthood, getting to the point where she was able to go out on her own," Counceller said.

The Councellers said Dani escaped from their home the day she was scheduled to be euthanized. :shifty:

State officials are now attempting to press charges against the couple for unlawful possession of a deer, a misdemeanor bearing a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and $2,000 in fines.

"No matter what the law is, we did what was right for the animal," Jennifer Counceller said.

source

[*RedBull*]

No good deed goes unpunished. ;)

[LaP]

Hang 'em, HANG 'EM!

[techbeck]

Now that is bull****. Worry about more problems than a good couple helping an injured animal. I wonder how many people are in jail, or have been jailed, over stupid **** like this.

[Pam14160]

Truelly wrong. . . :angry:

[Buttus]

LOL i can see it now, sitting in jail with real criminals... what are you in for? assault? grand theft?

nah, unlawful possession of a deer....

[DocM]

Mixed feelings

Good that they did the rescue, but they should have either given it to a wildlife rescue group or released it as s yearling

Bad because the DNR officer is correct - it could pose a danger to humans.

Bucks get very, very aggressive during the rutting season (fall) and have killed people by goring them. A few years ago this happened to a hunter about a mile from me. Michigan whitetail bucks can run 400 lbs, so sn attack is very significant.

Does can also be dangerous; some grow antlers like the bucks, and even without them they can kick like hell. One of my hunting partners had a 40 stitch wound opened on his thigh by a ~60 lb immature doe that wandered up to him from behind during grouse season, and does can get up to well over 200 lbs.

Upshot is that deer are wild animals that bear little resemblance to Bambi.

[FloatingFatMan]

^ If they weren't out playing macho man, the deer (who rightfully would actually like to stay ALIVE!) wouldn't have injured them.

I have no problem with people being gored to death by the animals they're trying to kill. Serves the buggers right.

Which is the more dangerous animal? Something that's minding its own business and chomping on some nice berries? Or a macho man wannabe with a rifle?

[Hum]

We need to euthanize some of these idiotic 'authorities' who are messing with our lives.

[exotoxic]

Bucks get very, very aggressive during the rutting season (fall) and have killed people by goring them. A few years ago this happened to a hunter about a mile from me.

I don't see what the problem is??

[+hedleigh Subscriber²]

Mixed feelings

Good that they did the rescue, but they should have either given it to a wildlife rescue group or released it as s yearling

Bad because the DNR officer is correct - it could pose a danger to humans.

Bucks get very, very aggressive during the rutting season (fall) and have killed people by goring them. A few years ago this happened to a hunter about a mile from me. Michigan whitetail bucks can run 400 lbs, so sn attack is very significant.

Does can also be dangerous; some grow antlers like the bucks, and even without them they can kick like hell. One of my hunting partners had a 40 stitch wound opened on his thigh by a ~60 lb immature doe that wandered up to him from behind during grouse season, and does can get up to well over 200 lbs.

Upshot is that deer are wild animals that bear little resemblance to Bambi.

You mean that they attempt to defend themselves?

Wonder what it says in the 'Deer Constitution' about that! :shiftyninja: :)

[44MLX]

Justice has been served ;).

[Jughead]

Mixed feelings

Good that they did the rescue, but they should have either given it to a wildlife rescue group or released it as s yearling

Bad because the DNR officer is correct - it could pose a danger to humans.

Bucks get very, very aggressive during the rutting season (fall) and have killed people by goring them. A few years ago this happened to a hunter about a mile from me. Michigan whitetail bucks can run 400 lbs, so sn attack is very significant.

Does??can also be dangerous; some grow antlers like the bucks, and even without them they can kick like hell. One of my hunting partners had a 40 stitch wound opened on his thigh by a ~60 lb immature doe that wandered up to him from behind during grouse season, and does can get up to well over 200 lbs.

Upshot is that deer are wild animals that bear little resemblance to Bambi.

Too bad it didnt eat your whole party better you than them

[DocM]

I don't see what the problem is??

Go take a course in game management.

The problem is that deer multiply like rabbits and cause problems for themselves snd people. Just in Michigan there are about 50,000 deer/car accidents a year; when the population gets too large the whole herd ends up malnourished (ever go ghrough the woods & see dozens of starved deer? I have), so they invade crpps, etc. A very real set of problems.

There aren't enough large predators to manage the deer population, and coyotes mostly eat smaller game, so the herd needs to be culled down every year. Since Michigan alone has millions of deer spread over almost 100,000 square miles DNR rangers can't do it, so hunters fill the predator niche.

How many? 800,000 to 1.5 million hunters in Michigan alone, ages kids on up. Bow, crossbow, pistol, muzzleloaders, rifle and shotgun. Many are low income subsistance hunters in the rural areas. A cheap way to fill the freezer for lean times.

Hunters get meat, and quite a few donate some of their deer to food kitchens (3 charities handle it) and the state sells licenses with the monies going towards funding the entire DNR including the fisheries. Area tourism is boosted by in and out of state hunters, and the seasonal businesses in the rural areas keep afloat

[exotoxic]

The problem is that deer multiply like rabbits and cause problems for themselves and people. Just in Michigan there are about 50,000 deer/car accidents a year; when the population gets too large the whole herd ends up malnourished, so they invade crops, etc.

You could say that about humans too.

There aren't enough large predators to manage the deer population

All get killed off for being too dangerous to humans??

Animal populations were regulating themselves long before humans came along, when population grows to an unsustainable level in a certain area then the weak will die (unlike humans) or you get a boost in predators due to more food and the weak get thinned out that way.

The reason for killing them is like you said they are causing problems for humans (lost ?$?$), sometimes killing for profit or "fun". One way or another it comes down to money. In the case of "fun" its "look at the power i hold to take the life of this beast!11!11", ego boots, show off etc... etc...

So basically it boils down to the fact people are d*cks.

[Growled Member]

No good deed goes unpunished. ;)

Exactly. Sad the world is this way, though.

[Hum]

Glad the deer 'ran away' -- hope it has a fairly long life.

[Growled Member]

So you don't think it was an accident either?