Wild deer captured and kept in a dog crate for weeks. A Bay Area resident is cited
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A Sonoma County resident was cited for illegally capturing and keeping a fawn in a dog crate for weeks, wildlife protection authorities said.
An officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife received a report that a group of people was seen taking a young black-tailed deer from the wild and putting it in the crate, according to a law enforcement association news release. The agency did not disclose the location of the home where the fawn was found.
Wildlife Officer Cameron Blechert went to the reported location and saw the deer in a dog crate outside a house, according to the news release.
The people at the home said they found the fawn in the wild and admitted to keeping it for more than three weeks, the department said. Only one of the suspects was issued a citation for unlawfully capturing and confining wildlife, the news release said. None of the people involved in caging the fawn were identified, according to the release.
A large bear in the Hansen Dam area of the San Fernando Valley was captured Monday by California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials and released in Angeles National Forest.
Officials said the fawn was transported to a permitted wildlife rehabilitation facility so the animal could be looked after and released back to the wild when it is bigger and better able to care for itself.
Deer hunting in California is permitted in specified areas and only with state licenses and tags. But it’s illegal to keep a deer as a personal possession, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
There are two main populations of deer in California, the black-tailed and mule deer, according to the state agency. The black-tailed deer has a geographic range from southern British Columbia to Santa Barbara County, as well as the Cascade Range and southern Sierra Nevada, according to the National Park Service.
Park Service officials said black-tailed deer are considered a “keystone” species in the native California coastal ecosystem because fluctuations in their population numbers have the potential for repercussions throughout the ecosystem.
Violations of California deer laws are a misdemeanor, subject to penalties of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
“CDFW urges the public to leave baby deer where they belong — in the wild,” the news release said. “Each spring and summer, CDFW and wildlife rehabilitation facilities are called to assist with fawns that have been removed from the wild by local residents and those recreating outdoors.”
To report an injured, sick or suspected orphaned fawn, contact your CDFW regional office. A list of contact information can be found online.
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