Sonoma Home Busted After Caged Fawn Found in Backyard Crate

A baby deer spent more than three weeks in an outdoor wire dog crate at a Sonoma County home before a state wildlife officer finally pulled it out and shut the whole operation down this week.

Residents at the property told officials they had been keeping the young fawn at home for over three weeks. A California Department of Fish and Wildlife officer removed the animal, cited one person for unlawfully capturing and confining wildlife, and sent the fawn to a licensed rehabilitation center for proper care.

According to CBS San Francisco, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Officer Cameron Blechert responded after a report that a group was seen taking a fawn from the wild and placing it in a cage. He arrived to find the animal in a dog crate outside an undisclosed Sonoma County residence. Officials said the fawn was then taken to a wildlife rehabilitation facility for appropriate treatment.

Why fawns are usually left alone

To many people, a lone baby deer looks like an emergency. To an actual doe, it usually looks like Tuesday.

Per Fawn Rescue of Sonoma County, mother deer commonly hide their newborns in tall grass or brush and return periodically to nurse. That means a fawn lying quietly by itself is not, by itself, a reliable sign of abandonment.

The nonprofit warns that handling or keeping fawns can disrupt maternal bonding, spread disease and reduce a fawn’s chance of survival. In other words, scooping up a baby deer for safekeeping can do far more harm than good. The group stresses that trained rehabilitators are the ones equipped to assess injured or truly orphaned animals.

Legal consequences for keeping deer

California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials are also reminding residents that keeping deer as personal rescues is not just risky for the animal, but it is illegal. Possessing deer without authorization can be charged as a misdemeanor.

 

If you come across a fawn that appears healthy, the official advice is simple: back away, keep people and pets at a distance, and let the doe come back on her own schedule.

Fawn Rescue runs an emergency line at (707) 931-4550 and asks residents to never touch or transport a fawn themselves, per Fawn Rescue of Sonoma County. For official reporting of injured, sick or suspected orphaned fawns, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife directs residents to its regional offices via California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This case is one of many handled by wildlife officers and rehabilitators during fawning season each spring and summer. Authorities say repeated removals by well‑meaning residents add stress to animals and strain local rescue networks, and they continue to urge the public to leave deer in the wild and let trained responders handle any fawns that might truly be in trouble.