Concerned people sometimes pick up animals that they think are orphaned. Most such “orphans” that good-intentioned citizens “rescue” every spring should have been left alone. Most wild animals will not abandon their young, but they do leave them alone for long periods of time while looking for food.
If a fawn or rabbit has been “rescued” when it shouldn’t have been, it can often be released at the same location. Parents tend to remain in the area for at least a day, looking for the lost youngster.
If a wild animal has been injured or truly orphaned, do not take matters into your own hands. You may locate a licensed wildlife rehabilitator by calling the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) dispatch at 804-367-1258 (24 hours, 7 days a week). You may also visit the VDGIF Web site (http://www.dgif.virginia.gov) for that same information.
Raising a wild animal in captivity is illegal unless you have a state permit. Each animal’s nutritional, housing, and handling requirements are very specific and must be met if they have any chance of survival. Feeding the wrong food to a fawn can make it very sick and possibly lead to its death. Cow’s milk will induce very severe diarrhea in fawns.
Another caution: do not chase fawns. If a fawn cannot be captured easily and quickly then it should be left alone. A prolonged chase will stress the animal and can lead to capture myopathy, a fatal condition due to severe muscle and kidney damage.
With even the best professional care possible, the survival rate of rehabilitated fawns and many other animals is very low. More than 50% of fawns brought to rehabilitation facilities die before being released due to injuries they come in with and unavoidable physical stress during the rehabilitation process. Of those fawns that are released, a very small percentage survives the first year in the wild.
Wildlife managers have additional concerns about fawn rehabilitation. The process requires deer to be moved, treated (often in contact with other deer), and then released back into the wild. Movement and commingling of deer increase the risks that contagious diseases, such as tuberculosis or chronic wasting disease, will be introduced into Virginia’s wild deer. Often, rehabilitated deer must be released into areas with already high deer populations.
Furthermore, many rehabilitation facilities have to turn fawns away due to limited housing and staff. Treating fawns takes resources away from treating animals that are rare or endangered.
The best advice for someone who wants to help wildlife is to keep it wild. Once we interfere, we reduce the opportunity for animals to be cared for by their natural mothers and we increase the risk of harming our wildlife heritage.
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