Kidnapping of Deer Fawns Discouraged

NOTE: The following is a feature article prepared by the Department of Natural Resources regarding recent incidences involving the "kidnapping" of deer fawns.

At this time of year, it is common for people to house and care for deer fawns they mistake as orphaned or abandoned by their mothers. Understandably, many people have empathy for the young animals and want to take them home to nurture, with the intent of releasing them back into the wild. Although this may seem humane, these attempts to "save" fawn deer are generally unnecessary and often result in the animal's premature death.

It is completely natural for a doe deer to leave her fawns in hidden areas while foraging for food. This activity is not abandonment. Although the fawn may be alone for a time, the doe will return three or four times a day to check on her young and allow it to nurse.

Deer live well in close proximity to people and are therefore commonly found within or near our communities. As a result, it is common to find a deer fawn near your home in areas of shrubs and brush or tall grass, wooded areas within towns, near industrial sites and subdivisions, or on agricultural land. If you find a fawn, regardless of the location, simply leave the animal alone.

Film and television programs tend to glamorize keeping wild animals as pets, but the reality is far less pleasant. By bringing a wild animal into your home you are removing it from the environment to which it is best adapted and condemning it to an unnatural, and often short life. Deer are a wildlife species that cannot be easily tamed. They are herd animals with natural instincts honed for survival and self-preservation in a forest habitat.

If hand reared, a deer fawn will quickly imprint on humans. When this happens, the fawn begins to think of itself as more human than wild deer. Consequently, it will lose its natural fear of humans as well as pets and vehicles. As they get older, pet deer, especially bucks, can become extremely dangerous. A hand raised deer will never have the skills to survive in the wild. It will more likely remain near humans, be hit by a vehicle, cause property damage, or have the ability and inclination to be aggressive toward humans, which often results in serious injury or even death. This is why keeping a deer fawn is illegal across most of North America.

In Nova Scotia, only licensed and specially constructed wildlife rehabilitation facilities are certified to care for orphan deer fawns. Because of disease issues, including chronic wasting disease, the Provincial Wildlife Park at Shubenacadie and the Two Rivers Wildlife Park in Cape Breton are no longer permitted to take in orphaned, injured, or sick deer.

If you have already brought a fawn home, contact your local Natural Resources office as soon as possible. If it has been less than 48 hours since you removed it from the wild, you will be instructed to immediately return it to where it was found. After 48 hours, there is a chance that the doe may reunite with its fawn and continue to care for it.

However, if it has been more than 48 hours since the animal was removed from the wild, it must be brought in to the local Natural Resources office. The longer the fawn has been away from its mother, the less likely it is to reunite with its mother and survive.

Most humans have a basic need to nurture and care for young animals they encounter. However, when wildlife are involved with humans, the result is most often tragic for the animal. If you truly care for wildlife -- let them remain wild.