In an event many of us will not be soon toasting, an Arizona man illegally removed a wild deer fawn from the desert near Salome, Arizona and brought it into a local bar to show his cronies.
According to Arizona Game and Fish, the unknown man was reported to have brought the animal to his favorite watering hole to show his buddies when they were alerted about the event. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that this deer will never again live in the wild, where it was meant to be.
“This truly is an unfortunate situation for this deer fawn. Instead of living a life in the wild, it must now remain in captivity due to the irresponsible actions of one person,” said Mike Demlong, AZGFD Wildlife Education program manager. “The fawn is healthy, but requires feeding every three to four hours, which is time consuming and costly in the long run. The Department will keep the fawn for a few days to ensure it is healthy and feeding well, then it will be transferred to a wildlife sanctuary in Arizona.”
As the department seized the animal and cared for it initially, it is slated to be transferred to Keepers of the Wild Nature Park, non-profit that specializes in both exotic and domestic rescue and rehabilitation.
The event is one of many of late in which citizens are taking in animals sometimes perceived as “abandoned” in the wild. The department wishes to remind everyone that these animals are often stashed or hidden by their mothers and are best left to their own devices.
Once conditioned to human presence, their chances of survival diminish, bounding them to a life of captivity or worse, are euthanized.