Among the shopping carts filled with possessions of those without a home, a bright-eyed little fawn was seen frolicking in and around Linear Park Tuesday.
An individual had found the fawn in the Bella Vista area and brought it to town where a lot of attention was given to the big-eyed baby deer.
“It was so bizarre watching him walking down the walkway with this little baby deer following him,” said Stephenie Broersma. “He walked away from the fawn but the fawn looked around and was like, ‘where are you going?’
“The fawn even came up to me like I was an old friend.”
But therein lies the problem, which got the man in some serious trouble.
“In their first week or so of their lives all they do is hide while mom goes and feeds,” said Conservation Officer Tanner Beck. “If people pick them up and interact and bond with them they start to bond with people.”
Broersma thought it was unusual to see a fawn being so friendly and close to people.
“We called animal control and they said to just let it be.”
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service and RCMP were flooded with calls about the fawn Tuesday morning and managed to catch up with it, and the man who was carrying it around.
“At some point in the morning he found it, picked it up and proceeded to carry it around for the next few hours,” said Beck.
“RCMP were able to track him down near the Upper Room Mission. He was arrested for another matter and the fawn was taken into RCMP custody and then transferred into our custody.”
The fawn was released mid-day back at the location it was found.
“There was deer around where I put it back so I’m hoping that it was successful,” said Beck.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service is reminding residents that if you see wildlife alone in the wild, leave them alone.
TWEET:
An individual from Vernon was recently charged after taking possession of a fawn and carrying it around for over 2 hours. The fawn was released in the location it was found for the doe to retrieve it. Leaving newborn deer alone is the best thing you can do for their survival pic.twitter.com/oOxj7UM4eS
— BC CO Service (@_BCCOS) June 12, 2018
A violation ticket was issued to the offending individual who is known to police and has no fixed address.
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