Moving day for the deer
Well, one died - but there are always risks associated with such a big move, especially in this heat.
From the KTAR website: DEER
High-Risk Deer Move Ends in 1 Death
June 24th, 2007 @ 1:25pm
by KPHO.comA high-risk deer move that took hours to execute ended with one of the 46 animals dying on Saturday.
On June 5, a judge slapped Arthur Thruston with $837 in unpaid rent, legal costs and late fees and ordered him off the two-acre rental property in central Glendale. The case stemmed from an eviction proceeding filed against Thruston by the landlord.
Thruston got approval from the Arizona Game and Fish Department to move the deer across the Valley to Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, once the largest truck farm in Arizona with over 5,000 acres. The family farm opens its doors to visitors every fall for concerts and festivals on weekends and educational tours during the week.
With temperatures over 100 degrees, Thruston, along with the volunteers, said they feared they might lose some of the animals, especially the expectant mothers, in the risky transport.
It took hours and many repeated attempts of gentle coaxing and prodding to steer the deer from their pasture and into the trailer for transport.
At one point, when some of the deer did not cooperate, volunteers, including veterinarians and Game and Fish officials, used a tranquilizer gun to speed up their efforts.
Finally, every last deer was loaded into the trailer for the hour’s drive across the Valley.
One volunteer said while it may not exactly be freedom, from a small Glendale pasture to acres of deer-friendly farmland, it is closer to paradise.
“All in all, the deer won in this situation,” said John Samuelson, a veterinarian. “They’re out in the middle of an orchid. They’re going to love it.”
They’re out in the middle of an orchid I think the writer meant “orchard”
