Fawn Rehabilitation in North Carolina

Transcription

1 Fawn Rehabilitation in North Carolina Daron K. Barnes Permits Supervisor Wildlife Rehabilitators of NC Annual Symposium Raleigh, NC January 28, 2012 Purpose of the Program Rehabilitate and release orphaned and injured white-tailed deer fawns Educate the public about deer behavior Provide opportunity for volunteers to get involved Fulfill a niche that WRC is not designed to address 1

2 Permit Types Secondary fawn rehabber Accepts fawns from the public Stabilizes health of new fawns Starts fawns on a bottle Cannot release must transfer fawns to a primary Primary fawn rehabber Accepts fawns from the public Accepts stabilized older fawns from secondary rehabbers Weans all fawns from bottle to browse Releases fawns on-site (soft release) or at a WRC-approved location (hard release) Pen Size/Type Minimum pen size Primary 10 x 20 x 6 feet Secondary 10 x 10 x 6 feet Young fawns (<2 weeks) may be kept indoors Large dog crate, preferably collapsible cloth Comfortable temperature Distanced from human activity and noise Older fawns must be kept outdoors Fence 6 in height and covered Fence made of wood, chain link, or similar material For wire fences, shade cloth to 4 in height Distanced from human activity and noise 2

3 2/1/2012 Pen Location Pen must be placed away from human activity Pen must be placed on a well-drained site with natural or manmade shelter Pen must contain: Grain feeder with roof Water container Visual barrier around entire pen Floor covering (grass, shavings, etc) not cedar, hay, gravel, or concrete 3

4 Minimum Experience Should have state wildlife rehabilitation permit At least for small mammals (most generic permit) Should have experience or training with fawns, goats, or similar species (ruminants especially) Should have access to a licensed veterinarian (preferably one that handles large animals or ruminants) How to Apply Application on-line Click on Licensing Icon (top of screen) Click on Other Licenses & Permits (middle) Click on Species Specific License and Permits Click on Rehabilitation Fawn (about the middle of the page) Application by mail Contact Wildlife Management at (919)

5 Application Process Background check Facility inspection Application review by District Biologist Enforcement Officer Captive Cervid Program Leader Final review/approval by Permits Supervisor Lengthy process (1-2 months) Prefer primaries, but will accept secondaries Number of Rehabbers If we don t have enough Calls go unanswered Truly orphaned/injured fawns may not get help Well-intentioned, but inexperienced people may hold on to fawns Transportation distance increases If we have too many Negative public awareness is promoted People may pick up fawns simply because they want to get involved Results in more fawns being picked up that shouldn t 5

6 So what do we do? Use the totals from last year! Locate empty spots on the map Rehabber location/distribution Locate where additional help is needed (by county) No. of phone calls received No. of fawns accepted for care Human population size Find experienced rehabbers Word of mouth Training classes Post card mailings Current Areas of Need ASHE SURRY STOKES ROCKINGHAM CASWELL PERSON WARREN NORTHAMPTON HERTFORD GATES WAUTAGA AVERY WILKES YADKIN FORSYTH GUILFORD FRANKLIN HALIFAX BERTIE ALEX- DAVIE ANDER IREDELL CATAWBA ROWAN LINCOLN CABARRUS GASTON STANLY MADISON BURKE MCDOWELL BUNCOMBE SWAIN RUTHERFORD GRAHAM HENDERSON JACKSON POLK TRANS- CHEROKEE MACON SYLVANIA CLAY NASH EDGECOMBE WAKE RANDOLPH CHATHAM WILSON PITT JOHNSTON GREENE LEE WAYNE HARNETT MOORE LENOIR CRAVEN HYDE DARE UNION ANSON HOKE SAMPSON DUPLIN JONES ONSLOW Areas of need Areas covered ROBESON BLADEN PENDER COLUMBUS BRUNSWICK 6

7 Program Reporting & Data Concrete numbers on program achievements No. of fawns rehabbed and released Survival rates helps gauge success of program No. of calls and from which counties helps determine work load and areas of need Counties with the highest numbers Primary causes for which fawns are accepted helps determine public education focus Garrett College Any Questions? 7