Spring has arrived and again so has the problem of baby wild animals coming into the possession of people who do not know what to do next, so as a licensed wildlife rehabilitator I want to send some advice out to those who really do want to do the right thing. I know there are many who will ignore what I am saying, and try to take things into their own hands, but more often than not, they also will contact a wildlife rehabilitator when they make the animal sick, and it will be too late. or the animal will die.
First of all, it is illegal for you to have any wild animal in your possession without the permits from the DNR.
What happens if you get caught? You can be fined, the animal can be confiscated and euthanized by the DNR, or perhaps you will be lucky and a really great DNR officer like the ones in Kosciusko County who may choose to give you a verbal or written warning and remove the animal from you to a licensed rehabilitator.
If you keep a wild animal in your possession and it bites someone, the law states it must be euthanized and checked for rabies, the person bitten may have to have rabies vaccines, and you could be held liable for expenses and damages on top of fines from the DNR.
Wild animals are never pets, they most always bite, especially when they get tired of you trying to make them into a pet and they become sexually mature and want to return to nature. Baby raccoons turn into monsters who will bite, kill cats and small dogs, dig the siding off of your house, pull screens off of windows, dig out insulation and have more babies who will grow up to do the same. They belong away from people and homes.
Please do not try to keep them for a pet during the summer and then dump them off on a rehabilitator to undo all the damage you have done to this animal. We cannot always save an animal that has been handicapped by your perhaps well-meaning attempts to make a pet out of a wild animal. And please, please do not dump a semi-tame raccoon or animal in an area such as a park where they will come in contact with people they are not afraid of, who might not know they are semi-tame and kill or injure them as they come near. This does happen.
For fawns, this is especially important: Never pick up or move a fawn that is lying still, mom has not abandoned it. She is off eating and will return and the fawn will wait for her. If the fawn is running about, bleating, showing no fear of you, there is a problem and do not try to feed the fawn yourself. They have very delicate stomachs and you will damage them by feeding them wrong to the point of no return. I get several in a year that well-meaning people have tried to help and have made so sick I cannot save them.
So what do you do if you find an injured or apparently abandoned baby? Call the DNR or your local police and find out who the state licensed rehabilitator closest to you is, and get the animal to them. Do not try to feed them anything, especially if they are cold. Warm the baby in a warm, quiet place and do not handle it or allow kids to handle it. And if you can, please donate something to the rehabilitator to help with expenses. There is no funding for rehabilitation except for what people donate and what rehabilitators spend themselves to care for these animals. Many rehabilitators have been forced to quit because of lack of funds. It is expensive to care for wild baby animals.
Even if you have not found a baby, consider helping by locating a rehabilitator near you and see what you can do to help, so when a baby is found there is a place for it to go to be cared for a released back to the wild.
And why help when there are already too many? Because not everyone can kill, throw into a dumpster, or just leave it to die, and there needs to be a place for these animals to go. Without help, there will be no place for them. Let's work together, all of us who love animals and wildlife, and do what is best for nature's babies.
