British Columbia, Canada, Ministry of Environment Fish and Wildlife.

emails:

www.envmail@gov.bc.ca

Conservation.Officer.Service@gov.bc.ca

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http://www.theprovince.com/technology/Ucluelet+woman+fights+keep+deer/1
887421/story.html


Ucluelet woman fights to keep her pet deer
 

Officials say rescued fawn that loves Elvis can't stay in house, but 
woman calls it 'death sentence'
 

By Laura Stone, The Province August 13, 2009 7:11 PM  Comments (83)
 
 
Janet Schwartz and Bimbo (named for a Gene Autry song) have shared 
meals and a bed since Schwartz rescued the orphaned deer.
 
 
Janet Schwartz and Bimbo (named for a Gene Autry song) have shared 
meals and a bed since Schwartz rescued the orphaned deer.
Photograph by: Handout, for The Province

Janet Schwartz thinks of Bimbo as her baby. A baby that happens to be a 
five-year-old deer.

But the provincial Environment Ministry says the Ucluelet woman can't 
legally keep wildlife as a pet, and is asking Schwartz to release the 
doe back into the wild — or to an animal-rehabilitation centre.

"I love her and I don't want to lose her," said Schwartz, who lives in 
the bush near Mussel Beach.

Schwartz found Bimbo on the side of the highway five years ago near 
Ucluelet — home to many roaming deer — beside the fawn's dead mother. 
Bimbo has lived with her ever since, along with Schwartz's boyfriend, 
two dogs, a cat and an outdoor goat.

"She's like a real baby. She cuddles up to me all the time, eats the 
same food I eat, stays in my house and sleeps in my bed at night," said 
67-year-old Schwartz.

"She loves to dance. She loves Elvis Presley. I put Elvis Presley on 
and she'll dance. Her back end will sway."

The deer, named after the Gene Autry song "Bimbo," eats whatever 
Schwartz puts in front of her, including berries, bananas, apples, 
potatoes and porridge, as well as some treats.

Ucluelet Mayor Eric Russcher called Schwartz a "very earthy woman, 
maybe a little rough around the edges, but a sweetheart at heart."

He recalls seeing Schwartz driving with Bimbo in her backseat a few 
years ago.

When a local conservation officer was notified of Bimbo's domestication 
a few months ago, Schwartz was told to apply for a wildlife permit. She 
did, but was denied the permit on July 15, said Kim Brunt, a senior 
ministry wildlife biologist.

"They're wild animals and so they don't inherently make good pets. 
There's human safety and disease issues in handling wildlife, 
especially habituated wildlife," he said.

Brunt said the risks include animals turning on their handlers, as well 
as bacterial diseases passed on to humans.

As for Bimbo's diet, which includes processed food: "It's very 
unhealthy," he said. "These animals are ruminants, like a cow. They 
have a four-part stomach that's designed for digesting natural 
vegetation."

Schwartz said she's never gotten sick from Bimbo — who goes to the 
bathroom in a tray lined with newspaper — and has tried releasing her. 
The doe came back bloody, probably from a bear attack, she said.

She wants the ministry to leave her and her baby alone.

Leaving Bimbo "would probably kill her and kill me, emotionally," said 
Schwartz. "If I lost her, I'd probably end up in the hospital with a 
nervous breakdown."

E-mail: lstone@theprovince.com

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