Deer Wearing Collar Painted with 'PET' on Body Alarms Missouri Officials

(Photo : Edho Fitrah / Unsplash)
A deer was seen in a Missouri private property. Its body was painted with the word ‘PET’ on it.

Authorities in Missouri were alarmed when neighbors reported seeing a deer in the yard of a house wearing a collar and with the word "PET" painted on its body.

Missouri Officials Alarmed as Local Takes Deer as Pet

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and Missouri Department of Conservation recently emphasized that deer are not pets.

A deer labeled "PET" with a collar was found in rural Festus, Missouri, prompting a Facebook warning from the sheriff's office. They stressed that wild animals, especially deer, should not be kept as pets or relocated from their natural habitat.

A conservation agent responded to a September 27 complaint about a deer on private property, but the deer had already gone upon arrival of the official.

There have been no further reports or sightings of the deer, according to Dan Zarlenga, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Dangers of Taking in Deer and Other Wildlife

The spokesperson later provided more information about why keeping a deer as a pet is unsafe and illegal.

Zarlenga added that taking wildlife into Missouri without the required permissions is against the Wildlife Code of Missouri and is also bad for the animal.

Deer and other wildlife, according to Zarlenga, can cause damage to homes and potentially infect other domestic pets with parasites or diseases.

He also mentioned the chronic wasting disease that affects deer.

Moving a deer from DeSoto to another region of the state runs the risk of transmitting the lethal disease to areas that aren't already afflicted, he claimed, as it is in Jefferson County and the CWD Management Zone.

White-tailed deer and other kinds of deer are susceptible to the devastating CWD disease, which has been discovered in Missouri and is gradually expanding.

As MDC continues to investigate and prevent the spread of the disease, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office also issued a warning about CWD and the need to remove deer from their habitats.

Also Read: COVID-19 in White-Tailed Deer Evolves 3 Times Faster Than in Humans; Is Interspecies Transmission Possible?

Stop Handling Wildlife

Zarlenga added that people lack the resources to meet the dietary and other needs of wild animals.

According to him, wild animals raised in captivity and later released could lack the abilities necessary to thrive in the wild or could grow overly reliant on people.

The most beneficial thing a concerned citizen could do for any species, according to Zarlenga, is to leave it be.

When a fawn is spotted alone, authorities and experts strongly advise against approaching it because doing so could cause its mother to reject it. The best course of action if the fawn has already been "handled" is to wipe it off with a clean towel that has been dusted with dirt, put on a fresh pair of gloves, and take it back to where it came from.

Fawns are born from late May to the end of June, with the majority occurring in the first few weeks of June.

Deer mothers frequently give birth at night in places like people's front yards, which may look completely secure at night but are very different during the day. If such happens, reporting it to officials would be the best course of action.