Oregon Officials - Let Snowball and Bucky Go!
Thursday, September 20th, 2007 | ,
Six years ago, and Oregon man stumbled upon a baby deer that had deformed feet. Instead of ignorning it, he did the humane thing, and took her to the vet and paid thousands of dollars to help get her better. She has become his pet, and he named her Snowball. She also gave birth to a baby, Bucky, and things seemed to be going along just fine until Oregon authorities stepped in.
They seized the animals and threatened to put them down, all because Jim Filipetti didn’t have one of 16 available wild animal rehabilitation licenses.
This story has outraged Oregon residents, as well it should. One man commented that people could get a license to kill deer, but heaven forbid if anyone tried to help one. Due to the pressure from citizens, the Fish & Wildlife division has decided not to euthenize the animals, and Filipetti could perhaps get Snowball back, however, it looks as if Bucky will be on his own - a decision as to his fate hasn’t been made yet.
I think this story is completely outrageous. Filipetti has done no harm in rescuing Snowball. Why punish someone for doing the right thing? Government needs to take a giant step back, admit to making a mistake with this, and give him Snowball and Bucky back. This is a pathetic case of government over-involvement. Why take animals away from the best home/care they’ll ever receive? Come on, Oregon. Do the right thing - let the deer go back to the only home they’ve ever known.
For more information, check out the story here.
2 Comments to Oregon Officials - Let Snowball and Bucky Go!
Well Jen, you didn’t tell me about this one. It’s just insane isn’t it? And it’s true, there are unlimited licenses for murdering animals, but to save them, you’d better be ready to go through a lot of red tape.
There was a similar case of this in Rabun County, Georgia. Guy rescued two deer, kept them in a large field on his property, was warned by the Rangers (but they didn’t take the deer away). The guy did let them go free - for their sake.
They hung around a lot and would eat out of your hand, weren’t afraid of people, they allowed me to pet them a few times. Then they disappeared. Probably were shot down. Always made me really sad. I missed seeing them and always wondered where they went.
There is wisdom in not letting the leacherous hunter’s prey get too complacent. They’ll be picked off too easily. But if a person has the capacity and the ability to protect and care for an animal, they should be allowed to. Two sides to the coin, but once the damage of taming is done …
Goddess Bless Bucky and Snowball.
I know, Shawn, this is such a disturbing story. There are too many sad stories like this of people trying to help animals, and then the government getting involved (or whoever) and messing things up. I think that you’re right - we shouldn’t let the wild animals get used to humans because it does them no favors. When they need rescuing, I think it’s best to contact a wildlife rehabilitation facility that is equipped to handle and help wild animals. Stories like this are just too sad.
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