When I first read this headline, I immediately assumed someone was trolling. I had to reread the headline several times, blinking, wondering who this prankster was. Slowly, I realized it wasn’t an internet troll. At first I felt surprise, and this pooled into sadness, then anger. Anger not just for the pointless loss of a beautiful, harmless creature, but at the sheer thuggery of those involved.
To further up the rage quotient, a DNR spokesperson compared the fawn-killing order to a drug bust. And how about the report of aerial surveillance of the property? Of how an employee was able to “get into position to see Giggles exiting and entering the barn”. For a deer fawn. Really? Is this a wise use of resources? Who gives the order to spend all this time and money to perform surveillance on a deer fawn?
Even worse, Giggles was to be transferred to a rehabilitation center in Illinois the next day. Had the henchmen at the Wisconsin DNR simply made a phone call, they wouldn’t be in the enormous bucket of shit they now find themselves in.
We seem to be sliding towards a police state, and not even deer fawns are safe from the goon squad. This story isn’t just about the pointless destruction of a harmless animal. No, it goes much deeper than that.
This incident reveals a severe lack of judgement…so severe that those who carried out this behavior should be evaluated as to their capacity to responsibly carry a deadly weapon. The Wisconsin DNR has made all of us look bad. They should be deeply ashamed. If they are not ashamed, that needs to be evaluated as well. Perhaps the worst aspect of all is how to explain this reprehensible lack of judgement to Wisconsin’s children, and the children of a nation.
But hey, at least some good came out of it. The Wisconsin DNR, through sheer ignorance has managed to unite Republicans, Democrats, Progressives, Tea Partiers, hunters and animal rights activists.
As a young boy, I spent my summers fishing and hiking the great Northwoods. I often heard the locals refer to the Wisconsin DNR as “Do Nothing Right”. I’d always shrugged it off and focused on enjoying the pine-scented woodlands and blue waters. Why get caught up in drudgery and politics when there was so much fine country? Well, now I get it. Except this time, the DNR is not just the target of local jokes. Now it’s multinational. It takes a certain blend of stupidity and arrogance for a local natural resources division to gain such notoriety.
RIP, Giggles. I for one, apologize for these douchebags.
Update: Huff Post is reporting the fawn was tranquilized and sealed in a bag, then brought to another location for its execution. I wonder what was going through the fawn’s mind in those awful moments. There are also reports that a shelter worker tried to document the raid with his phone, but that one of the henchmen seized the phone and deleted the images.
Feel free to tell the Wisconsin DNR what you think on their Facebook page.
Call Toll Free 1-888-WDNRINFo (1-888-936-7463)
Their chat page.
Update II: Apparently they took down their Facebook page after thousands left comments. Stay classy, Wisconsin DNR.
Update III: The New York Daily News is reporting that a tranquilized Giggles was “tossed into the back of a pickup” while sealed inside a bag, and that the goons were congratulating each other on the road.
Bizarre.
Update IV: Unfortunately, as more details leak, it only gets worse for the Wisconsin DNR. According to the shelter owner, the DNR also took a goose that had called the shelter home for years. After being shot by neighboring hunters, the injured goose landed on shelter property, no longer able to fly. There it lived in peace for eight years until allegedly it was taken by DNR.
There are also reports that many sun-sensitive animals were left to overheat outside as the government employees searched the shelter. According to the shelter owner, many of these animals needed help to cool off once the goon squad left. Normally, these animals would be rotated back into the shady barn.
