NY State Department of Environmental Conservation Wants to Kill Rescued Orphaned Deer!

Dear Governor Cuomo, Acting Commissioner Gerstman, and Region 7 Director Kenneth Lynch,

I am a licensed Class I Wildlife Rehabilitator and owner of a 12-acre horse farm in Central NY. I obtained my license in May of 2007 so that I could legally heal and release wildlife that may be on my farm and in my surrounding neighborhood, which I have been doing for 8 years (with my own money, incidentally). However, five years ago a day-old fawn was brought to me whose mother had been hit by a car. This baby bonded to me immediately and became my constant shadow. I had always intended to release her to the wild, but she was never ready -- and that is understandable, considering that she has never really *been* wild. She has been living with horses all her life. Her name is Deirdre. In addition, last fall I was called about a fawn who was wandering aimlessly and the neighbor was afraid she would get hit in the road. This fawn was estimated at approximately 3 months old and was suffering from severe malnutrition after losing her mother. Her name is Lily. She was covered with mites and was just days from death. With the help of my veterinarian, we managed to pull her through. Unfortunately, the blindness caused by her thiamine deficiency did not reverse itself with proper nutrition or thiamine injections, and she seems to be permanently blind. She has been here now for 6 - 7 months. At the end of April 2015, I applied for a License to Possess for these two non-releasable does (as required by law) with the intention of starting a sanctuary for non-releasable deer and other wildlife. (I already rescue horses.) These two does are lovely ambassadors of their species and can help to educate the public about wildlife, and deer in particular.

My application was denied. In fact, the DEC responded by insisting that I either release Deirdre (lock my gates and do not feed or water) or euthanize her, and euthanize Lily, or turn them both over to the DEC (where they will certainly then be put to death). I obtained my license to help *save* wildlife, not to kill them, and this order goes against everything I believe in. These two non-releasable does are an exception to policy since they are happy and healthy and no threat to anyone, and should be left alone to live out their natural lives in my care, where they are safe and feel secure. They live in a large, appropriate, and securely fenced enclosure and do not come in direct contact with the public or other deer. To throw Deirdre out into the wild at this point signs her death sentence. To insist on the euthanization of Lily because she can't see is an appalling misuse of environmental law, since she is otherwise healthy and is doing very well in her current environment.

My license arbitrarily limits my possession of wildlife to 180 days, regardless of species (a limit that was not clearly explained anywhere in the regulations or by officials when I first got my license). As the licensed expert in the trenches (so-to-speak), I had always believed that the release of any animal should be up to the discretion of the rehabilitator and not decided by someone in an office tower in Albany. In any event, certainly these deer should not lose their lives because of what is essentially a lapse in documentation (a paper violation).

The Special Licenses Unit in Albany is inexplicably intent on the destruction of these two harmless does. For what reason? When was common sense removed from environmental decision-making? They are not costing the state anything, financially or otherwise, and the law is exceptionally unreasonable and inflexible regarding this matter. Please help these does live out what is left of their natural lives in the safety and comfort of their home, where they are loved and cherished and can do some good, by demanding that the DEC reverse its decision and grant my License to Possess.

In closing, I ask you to consider the words of Henry David Thoreau: "Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice."

Thank You,

Cindy L. McGinley