Comments (17)

1. My big question… What do they do during mating season?

   posted by Stephen on 3-1-2010 at 10:50 am

2. Is it wrong? I’d say ‘no’ as long as the animal seems comfortable and happy.

   That said, the owners need to be prepared to deal with the consequences should anything bad happen. If one of their kids takes a hoof off the skull one day you won’t see me crying for mom and dad.

   posted by EV on 3-1-2010 at 10:51 am

3. “Is it wrong for a wild animal to become domesticated even if it means a better life?” Um, isn’t this what happened with cats and dogs at some point?

   The wild animal is getting free food and protection from predators. Humans are getting companionship and so on.

   You could argue that you’re disturbing the natural wild population, but we’re making a mess of the environment in so many other, more damaging ways, that I think this is a pretty minor event.

   posted by Matt on 3-1-2010 at 11:08 am

4. “Animal lovers often debate whether or not it’s acceptable to turn a wild animal into a domesticated pet. But when a family becomes attached to an animal they are trying to rescue, the bond is often difficult to break.”

   So wait. The question is whether the animal should have the course of its life irrevocably altered because a family might not be able to handle the emotional upset of letting it return to the wild?

   What happens when the cute little deer starts acting like the wild animal it is (and perhaps hurts or kills one of the family members)? Are they going to then send the completely defenseless, domesticated creature out into the wild *where it belongs*?

   posted by Jen on 3-1-2010 at 11:23 am

5. As long as there are only a few isolated cases and the animals are well-cared for by people who understand the responsibility, I don’t see anything wrong with it. I’d only be concerned if some celebrity thought it was a great idea and started a trend that people started following mindlessly, because “it’s so cool!” Too many pets have already gone through that hell – someone sees, say, 101 Dalmatians and decides they MUST have one too, then find that owning an energetic and intelligent dog is actually hard work and dumps the unwanted pet in an animal shelter. It’s even worse when if it happens to a wild animal, because it literally has nowhere to go once it’s been semi-domesticated. If it’s lucky, it’ll find a home someplace like the Wild Animal Sanctuary (this is a plug! Visit their site if you love animals!), if it’s not, it gets dumped back in the wild because “it has animal instincts, so it can fend for itself, right?”

   posted by Jina on 3-1-2010 at 11:30 am

6. Stephen, I thought the same thing. My brother and sister in law rescued a fawn once and it stuck around, BUT outside. When it was in heat, the bucks followed her right up to the porch. I’m curious what they do when shes in heat now as well. I mean it doesn’t hurt her any, they only go in heat in late fall and continue every so many days(forget how long) till they are bred until about January.

   I’m not big on her being INSIDE.

   posted by Dan on 3-1-2010 at 11:45 am

7. Have Siegfried and Roy taught people nothing?

   http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,697239,00.html

   And let’s not even get into those “cute” chimpanzees:

   http://snafu-ed.blogspot.com/2009/02/woman-seriously-mauled-in-attack-by.html

   posted by Romeo Vitelli on 3-1-2010 at 11:55 am

8. Anybody been reading the news about Seaworld recently? We have breed the wild out of quite a few animals, but the first generation ones still have that streak. The “owners” need to be prepared for that.

   posted by Dave on 3-1-2010 at 12:45 pm

9. As Chris Rock said re: Sigfried and Roy, “the tiger went…tiger.”

   posted by Helenann on 3-1-2010 at 1:46 pm

10. I completely agree with Jen. And I don’t know how anyone who actually knows anything about wildlife and the boundless errors of human/wildlife interactions that would think otherwise. The only wildlife that MIGHT be kept as pets are animals who can’t recover from their injuries or are for whatever reason determined unreleasable by wildlife rehabbers/veterinarians.

    “A better life” is completely subjective. You’re taking an animal that can learn to take care of itself and to interact with other members of its species and making it utterly dependent on human beings for its needs regardless of its age. And just because YOU can’t let the thing go? The Awwwwwwwww stage does not last forever.

    I’d recommend that chimp show that was on This American Life last week or Suzie Gilbert’s memoir of a bird rehabber for anyone interested in more info.

    posted by Kirk on 3-1-2010 at 1:51 pm

11. I’d say no, as long as you have the resources to care for the animal and to provide it with an adequate habitat, and the animal itself seems happy and contented. Naturally, endangered species should not be anyone’s pets.

    posted by Heather on 3-1-2010 at 2:44 pm

12. Is it house trained?

    posted by Joe on 3-1-2010 at 3:39 pm

13. I don’t see much of a problem, if it was a rescue as a fawn, there is a good chance that it has already lost the ability to live in the wild. The owners just need to be prepare to care for it as an adult deer.

    reCaptcha: kickier the

    posted by hockey zombie on 3-1-2010 at 3:49 pm

14. I think the “better life” statement was made because the deer is blind and was abandoned by its mother. That bit of info flashed across the screen toward the end. I don’t know much about deer, but I would imagine that being cared for by humans at such a young age would have made a transition into the wild rather difficult. Add blindness to the mix and it sounds to me like a death sentence. This isn’t a family randomly deciding they want a pet deer. This fawn showed up on their property and they took pity.

    That being said, I don’t think that making it an indoor pet was a particularly wise choice. I can’t imagine how much damage a spooked dear could do inside a house.

    posted by Christine on 3-1-2010 at 4:35 pm

15. If the poor thing is blind, it has absolutely zero chance of surviving in the wild. If they were to let it go, it would die. Period. So keeping it and taking care of it is “a better life.” Nature is cruel and animals do not care for their disabled brethren like humans do. So it’s not like they’re taking a perfectly able creature and keeping it for their amusement.

    posted by Siobhan on 3-1-2010 at 6:34 pm

16. In a related story, the town of Adair here in Iowa has its own “pet” deer.

    http://www.kcci.com/video/22588743/index.html

    posted by TheZed on 3-1-2010 at 7:42 pm

17. As a veterinarian, I can tell you that the best choice for a wild animal is almost always to be rehabilitated by someone licensed to handle wildlife for re-release. That being said, if an average person takes in a wild animal, re-release is a death sentence since most hunters would have no qualms about plugging a cute little Bambie that runs up to him/her wanting attention. Such animals are difficult to care for and usually end up in a wildlife center as a permanent resident. The exception- I do have one client- a former game warden- who has devoted his time and home to rehabbed deer and manages to live with 4 to 6 indoor/outdoor deer at any time. His male, even though castrated and often ill with a chronic urinary problem, still occasionally attacks him in a bid for dominance. Just some food for thought.

    posted by Dara on 3-1-2010 at 9:38 pm

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