PULLMAN – Veterinarians at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine want the public to know that removing a fawn from the wild is never a good idea and may result in someone else having to euthanize the animal.
Each year when new fawns are born, people who enjoy the outdoors may come upon them hidden in a secluded area. The first mistake occurs when a well-meaning person looks around and doesn’t see the doe and believes the fawn is orphaned. The second mistake they make is picking it up to “save it.”
“We get calls about this every year because people think that because we are a veterinary college and we choose to treat some wild animals that we want so-called orphaned fawns, too,” said Dr. Nickol Finch, chief veterinarian for WSU’s Exotic and Wildlife Animal Section.
“We don’t want them because most of them are in fact not being rescued at all; they’re being taken from a natural situation. And if people bring a fawn here from Idaho in particular, we have to euthanize them as a matter of disease control and prevention to protect our herds of both wild and domestic animals.”
Wildlife experts nationwide agree that people should not touch fawns or remove them from their habitat no matter what people imagine will happen if they don’t. In fact, the vast majority of fawns discovered by people are simply waiting for the doe to return. For the first few weeks of the fawn’s life, the doe keeps the fawn hidden except for suckling. The doe may also feed and bed a considerable distance from the fawn’s bed site; a survival skill to lessen the chances for predators finding the fawn.
“It is very expensive for the taxpayer if we have to care for a fawn at WSU,” said Dr. Finch. “Typically, costs run from $1,500 to $2,000 per fawn and because they are owned by the state, the state has to pay the bill.
“In addition, after we handle and feed a fawn for several days, they become imprinted to humans and likely cannot return to the wild. Then we have to find a home for them in a zoo or other wildlife exhibit. Even if they are transferred to a wildlife rehabilitator and are eventually released, it is arguable that they do not recognize humans as a threat and most will become nuisance wildlife or be taken easily in the next hunting season.
“While it may not be pleasant for people to think about, predators are part of the balance in the wild too, and some fawns and does will be consumed each spring. If a fawn truly is an orphan, it is also a meal for an interrelated web of other wild animals on down to microorganisms that evolved to have newborn animals as part of an annual food supply.”