Woman rescued a fawn, raise it and now the State want's to kill it...

[Ja Rhule]

Deer can get easily attached to humans and humans can get easily attached to animals...

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. —

A Burke County woman rescued a fawn last summer after she found it on the side of the road. Now, she's fighting to keep wildlife officers from euthanizing it.

Nancy Reese showed Eyewitness News the 7-month-old buck, nicknamed Buddy, she keeps in a pen in her front yard. Last summer, she found him right after birth in bad shape on the side of the road not far from her home.

“When I found about it, it laid there from 2 o'clock to 8 at night, and when I went back down there, the flies were all over its eyes. It couldn't even stand up, it was so weak,” Reese said.

Reese fed Buddy from a bottle days after the rescue. Now, he eats everything from apples to pears.

But wildlife officers said that is part of the problem. It could be difficult for Buddy to survive if he's ever released back into the wild. And state law says it is illegal in North Carolina to keep a deer in captivity.

“They say I put the deer in harm’s way. I saved its life,” Reese said. “I'm not putting it in harm’s way. But they are going to come here and kill it and euthanize it. That's not right.”

Right now, wildlife officers, who didn't want to go on camera, said they have not made a final decision on Buddy's fate. There are deer rehabilitators, but wildlife officers said in most cases, those experts must be contacted within 48 hours.

Their best advice is to leave wildlife alone.

Reese said she did the right thing last summer and believes if she lets Buddy go, he will survive.

“If he can't, I will ring that dinner bell over there and he'll be right here to eat,” she said.

http://www.wsoctv.co...fate-dee/nWCDD/

[jasonluckydog]

My dogs name is Buddy, he is the sweetest asshole. If they put that deer down I will be very upset, you dont want to upset a person who owns a dog named Buddy.

[Johnny Rockets]

This just happened somewhere else about a week ago. The day that they were to come and euthanize it, the deer miraculousy "jumped the fence" and got away before they showed up. When the people that owned the deer did an interview they were so over the top when they were saying "I just have no idea how that deer could have gotten away like that!" ...with huge smirks on their face.

I have a buddy of mine that lives up in the mountains and he has rescued 2 fawns. When they became able to take care of themselves he released them but they rarely leave his property (he has about 60 acres) and often just hang on his deck with him.

[g5jamz]

Officials do not like grey areas like this. That's why the law is written the way it is.

[Hawk]

you'd think there would be other options than having to kill it...game farm or someone's private zoo.

that said, if she raised it on milk and grain, it will be some gooooood eating

[Guest]

Bambi burgers, ftw.

[mmmbeans]

She shoulda let it go a long time ago.

[Bronn]

We found a fawn on the side of the road once... We even picked it up and held it for a while, until I convinced my wife that it would be better to return it to a safe spot in the woods away from the road...

[Falcons1stPanthers2nd]

over-regulation. fug off.

[thefuzz]

People are capable of making choices like keeping a deer on their own....they need help from the government.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Jeff and Jennifer Counceller thought were doing the right thing when they saved the life of an injured baby deer they found near their home in Indiana. But because they didn't have a permit, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is prosecuting them and they could face up to 60 days in prison. The DNR should drop these charges now.

When they found the fawn on a neighbor’s porch in 2010, she was badly injured with puncture wounds that were infected and had maggots in them. Jennifer, a registered nurse and wound caretaker for the couple’s dogs and horses took the deer home and named it Dani and began nursing the deer back to health.

When they called the DNR they were told to return the deer to the wild and let nature take it’s course. That would have been a death sentence for the deer. Instead, they tried to find Dani a home at animal rescue operations, petting zoos and deer farms, but no one would take her. The Counceller's decided to keep caring for the deer until it was strong enough to make it on it’s own in the wild.

This past summer the DNR started an investigation into the situation and a DNR official recommended they get a permit to rehabilitate Dani. The DNR then denied the permit application and then said the deer would have to killed.

Just before DNR officials arrived at the Counceller's house to kill Dani she escaped through a gate that was left open. Now, the DNR has assigned a special prosecutor to the case and they're charging both Jeff and Jennifer with illegal possession of a white-tailed deer.

Jeff is a police officer and Jennifer is a nurse - these are good people who were just trying to the right thing by saving an injured animal. They don't deserve to go to jail and the DNR should drop all charges against them.

We're asking that you sign the petition and also join the fight on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/connersvillecharges

[Davidson Deac II]

Generally speaking, people should leave mother nature alone. The wildlife officials are correct, if she ever lets the deer go, it will be an easy meal for a coyote, or it will not be able to find food for itself.

That being said, there are plenty of deer, so its unlikely to seriously hurt the population.