A walker found a young roebuck in the forest and took it home. Now the little one is pumped up with the bottle – and the police are investigated.
Every year in spring the case repeats itself that walkers find alleged foundlings in the forest and take them home. What is often meant well has fatal consequences. Now it has happened again in the district of Würzburg: a passer-by found a deer fawn that was supposedly abandoned by the goat in the wild. She took it home, wrapped in a dog blanket.
Similar to stray pets, she made her find public on posters. Walkers who registered the notice with a telephone number informed the police. In the meantime, the little roebuck, who is now about two weeks old, is in the care of the responsible tenant who does not want to be named. He now looks after the animal and the attempt to raise the fawn with the bottle seems to be a success.
“Unfortunately, such behavior repeats itself again and again. Whatever moves people to take newborn wild animals home with them from the wild is generally criminally relevant and fulfills the criminal offense of a deliberate offense of hunting poaching, a violation of the right to appropriation and the animal protection law” , the responsible hunting officer, police chief Bernhard Simon, warns of the incidents.
Simon and his colleagues from the Würzburg Land Police Inspectorate are leading the investigation in this specific case. The public prosecutor’s office decides which consequences the behavior of the passer-by will have after the investigation is completed.
Misunderstood human love for animals usually means certain death for young wild animals.
Michael Hein, chairman of the Würzburg district group in the BJV–
“Again and again the fascination with young wild animals leads to fatal human misbehavior, which often leads to fatalities for young animals. Unfortunately, the topic catches up with us every year,” says Michael Hein, chairman of the Würzburg district group in the Bavarian Hunting Association (BJV).
The fact is, says Hain: “Neither the supposedly abandoned fawn nor the apparently alone left young rabbit need our help to survive. If young animals had physical contact with humans, they are no longer accepted by the parent animals. Misunderstood human love for animals therefore usually means that certain death for young wildlife. “
Photo: Herbert Ehehalt
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As correct behavior when finding a fawn, Hein recommends moving away from the place of discovery as quickly as possible without touching it. Because the goat is certainly nearby, watches the spot from safe cover and guards her fawn.
Fawns have no instinct to flee in the first two weeks after birth. That is why it is particularly important to keep dogs on a leash when walking the dog. “Stay away from young wild animals is the only animal-loving behavior, everything else is pure selfishness and absolutely unreasonable,” emphasizes Hein.
Stay away from young wild animals is the only animal-loving behavior.
Michael Hein–
Meanwhile, the “foundling” seems to be on the right track under the intensive care of the hunting tenant. First, the fawn had to get used to milk powder substitutes. “After initially refusing, the fawn now indulges himself 200 milliliters from the bottle every four hours. The fawn now weighs 3.6 kilograms. Fidel lives with fellows and guinea pigs. It’s like a newborn child,” so the experience of the “foster parents”.
“What we do here with raising this small roebuck is the very essence of the woad work. We look after and care for game,” emphasize BJV district chairman Micheal Hein and the “foster father”. The aim is to get the little goat to get used to independence and foraging with increasing age, so that he can release it again as soon as possible. “When he comes to puberty, sprouts the horn and senses goats, he can no longer be held,” predicts Hein.
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