Rabbit Advocacy Animal Matters

Oh, Deer: Indiana Considers Case of Dani's Caretakers

January 31, 2013 Wall Street Journal

The case of Dani the orphan deer and the couple who took her in reached the highest levels of Indiana's government on Thursday.

The saga got its start in 2010, when Jeff Counceller, a police officer in Connersville, was on a call and came upon an injured baby whitetail deer. He said the animal had been bitten several times and was near death. He and his wife, Jennifer, called the fawn Dani and started caring for her, feeding her first with an eye dropper and then a bottle.

When the Councellers found Dani the deer, shown here, she was near death. They nursed her to health and now face charges. "As you bottle-feed something, it becomes attached to you, and you become attached to it," said Mr. Counceller, who has horses, dogs and ducks on his small farm about 60 miles east of Indianapolis.

The problem: It can be a crime to possess a whitetail deer. Now the deer and the Councellers, who have been charged with a misdemeanor of illegal possession of a whitetail deer, have captured the attention of the state capital, where debate is growing over whether to praise or punish the couple.

"I've stepped from the field into the woods just a little bit to check it out," said Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma, a Republican. "A gubernatorial pardon did seem to be in order, but there may be details I know nothing of."

Mr. Counceller said he knew the deer would eventually go back into the wild, and the couple began spending less time with Dani to prepare it. But before the deer left their care in June 2012, conservation officers became aware of it and opened an investigation.

According to court documents, the officers let the couple know the deer would have to be killed because of its extensive contact with humans. Before that happened, Dani was released from a pen Mr. Counceller had built and didn't return. Charges were brought against the couple in recent months, and Mr. and Mrs. Counceller each face 60 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted. The Councellers haven't pleaded in the case and plan to fight the charges.

A spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources said he can't comment on a pending case, and the prosecutor also declined to comment.

But the Councellers have found a groundswell of supporters on the Internet, including a petition calling on prosecutors to drop the charges. On Thursday, Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican who's been in office for less than a month, received a briefing on the case from the natural-resources department. Mr. Pence's office declined to comment, but in public statements reported in local media earlier this week, the governor backed the department.

As for bottle-feeding a wild animal, Julia Whittington, director of University of Illinois Wildlife Medical Clinic, said even with the best intentions clear dangers exist to animals and people. For example, people and their pets can be exposed to harmful diseases, while the animals fail to develop the behaviors needed to live in the wild. "There is a huge amount of information these animals learn. We are a poor, poor substitute," she said.

Couple facing 60 days in jail for rescuing injured baby deer. The real terrorists are power-hungry government berserkers within our own government, and they will stop at nothing to usurp power and enslave the masses.

I've been shouting this for years, and with each astonishing transgression of this liberty-crushing government, more and more people are waking up. Every time the government threatens another innocent gardener, parent or animal rescue person with imprisonment, tens of thousands of people hear about it and wake up to the reality that government in America has gone rogue. It no longer serves the People. Instead, it considers the People to be its enemy, and it is dedicated to crushing the People.

It's time we put government in its place. It's time we took a stand for all the innocent victims of the terrorist government currently running things in this country. It's time we stopped the government bailouts to rich, wealthy banksters and the criminalization of routine human activities like saving wounded animals or growing home gardens.
(Source: Natural News 13/01/29 Police state gone wild: Couple facing 60 days in jail for rescuing injured baby deer)

February 1, 2012 The Department of Natural Resources is requesting that charges against a Connersville couple for illegal taking of a deer be dismissed. After reviewing the matter, Gov. Mike Pence asked the DNR to reevaluate the case. As a result of the governor’s request, the DNR has re-examined the case and is seeking dismissal of the charges. (Source: Dubois County Free Press DNR is requesting prosecutor in #Bambigate case dismiss charges)

Comment: Here in BC, the process of acquiring a permit from the FLNR Ministry to relocate domestic ‘feral’ rabbits to sanctuaries is an onerous exercise in bureaucracy. On the other hand, it’s relatively easy to get a ‘hunting’ licence – a licence to kill innocent wildlife which belongs to all citizens. What a sick world we live in –we’ve created a continuing animal holocaust. Let’s stop this madness! From Henry Spira: "Their suffering is intense, widespread, expanding, systematic and socially sanctioned. And the victims are unable to organize in defence of their own interests."