A considerable amount of time is spent by Division of Wildlife staff and Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (OWRA) members talking with concerned individuals who believe they have encountered an orphaned wild animal, and both have worked hard to reduce the number of wild animals being picked up by well-meaning people. This has been especially true for white-tailed deer fawns. The Division, licensed wildlife rehabilitators, and wildlife educators have been diligent in their efforts to reduce the number of fawns taken from the wild. The message has been persuasive and most people have learned to leave fawns alone or put them back where they found them. Obviously this has always been the preferred option.

Eleven persons were authorized under special permits to rehabilitate fawns. The Division recognizes the considerable time and financial resources necessary for rehabilitating fawns. For each of the past three years approximately 200 fawns have been accepted for rehabilitation with about one-half of them released back into the wild annually.

However, situations related to white-tailed deer have changed significantly in Ohio and numerous other states in recent years, with disease issues being the most serious concern. This has prompted changes in authorized deer rehabilitation activities, just as raccoon strain rabies concerns in the 1990s resulted in changes for raccoons. Beginning in 2009 the Division will not authorize the rehabilitation of white-tailed deer fawns. This hands-off approach will help reduce the possible spread of communicable diseases, such as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), from animals being moved considerable distances from where they originated. This is only one proactive approach being employed to minimize the risk of CWD being introduced into the state and unknowingly moved from one location to another, thereby jeopardizing the health of Ohio’s 700,000 wild white-tailed deer. While CWD has been detected in West Virginia and Michigan, it has not been detected in Ohio since statewide testing began in 2002.

Before making the decision to stop rehabilitating fawns the Division carefully considered several options, including limiting fawn rehabilitation to selected counties and/or utilizing a live deer CWD test and marking fawns before release. Unfortunately we can’t be sure a person with a fawn in-hand will be aware or be truthful about the county of origin. And, at this time, based on objective evaluation from state diagnostic veterinarians, the nonlethal tonsillar biopsy test performed on live fawns is not practical or reliable for detecting CWD.

The Division will not ask rehabilitators to euthanize healthy fawns. The fawn would need to be returned to the location where it was found by the person who picked it up or by the rehabilitator if they choose to offer this option. In situations where fawns are taken in from known dead does, these fawns could be released within the same township in an area where the rehabilitator feels a doe might adopt the orphan. If these options are not possible, the Division will humanely euthanize the fawn following American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines.

The Division will continue to advise the public to leave fawns alone or instruct them to take the fawns back where they found them. We recognize there will inevitably be difficult situations with people having strong emotional attachments to orphaned, or perceived orphaned fawns, and some will attempt to keep them. This has been going on for years in Ohio, and we will continue to address this problem. In each case of an illegally confined fawn, the Division will address the emotion of the situation, take possession of the animal, and either return it to the wild if we feel that it has a chance of surviving, or humanely euthanize it. Each situation will be handled after considering all factors, including the condition of the fawn, the length of time the animal was in captivity, and the type of habitat the animal was taken from.

The Division of Wildlife and the OWRA have one of the strongest partnerships of its kind in the country. The Division and the OWRA have worked together to tackle many significant wildlife related projects and difficult issues. Over the years, this partnership has yielded an administrative rule governing rehabilitation activities in Ohio, a comprehensive and evolving permit application process, training and coordination of efforts for oil spill events, and many successful OWRA annual conferences.

The Division of Wildlife values its relationship with the OWRA and is committed to working together to continually improve this working partnership. The Division of Wildlife and our wildlife rehabilitation partners are passionate about wildlife. We share a common goal to be good stewards and ensure healthy wildlife populations exist for future generations to enjoy. Please continue to help the Division to communicate ways the public can appreciate, respect, and conserve Ohio’s wildlife.