I must admit, I was very surprised to hear the story of the murdered fawn in Patricia Killelea's "Report: Police Shoot Baby Deer in Oakland for No Reason". Moreover, after watching the footage on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHZTNRdWR-0&feature=related), my surprise quickly turned to outrage. The idea that a fawn could ever pose a “public safety threat” is something beyond my comprehension. As Killelea shows in her poem, this fawn was the very image of innocence. It was obviously lost and needed assistance to return home. However, the police officers did not help the lost fawn and instead used it as target practice. The manner in which power was misused and abused by the officers reflects the lack of interconnectedness with all living beings in Western culture. Furthermore, this lack of interconnectedness is what allows for situations like these to continue to occur. Hence, in order to prevent these atrocities from reoccurring, we must move away from dominant ideologies and acknowledge other belief systems so that balance may be restored.
I agree at the recklessness of this event. There were many alternatives. But that was no baby deer... Although deer may be "the very image of innocence", they are still wild animals and are very much dangerous in certain situations, including a mother and its baby. In an urban setting, people can get hurt (granted, people are more likely to get hurt with those guns going off), but deer are not docile like many think. I have worked with many wild animals, including deer. The second you underestimate them, is when someone gets hurt. Cornered deer have been known to attack. I once had to lift a day old fawn over a fence so it could get to its mother.... that mother attacked me so fast I have no idea how I got out of there without a scratch. Not everyone has had experience with deer beyond seeing them on the side of the road, but they are not bambi.... As for the rest of the events, police were the wrong people to call. Animal control is there for a reason. So i agree, no one had to die that day. But in the absence of animal control or any other means of restraint, a gun was the only resort. Deer in urban settings have a nasty habit of causing car accidents and have been known to attack if cornered. The ones you really have to watch out for are bucks. What needs to be instated is a sense of respect, not dominance or pity over wildlife, but a good understanding of their capabilities and role in the world.
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I also agree with you in the fact that Patricia Killelea's "Report: Police Shoot Baby Deer in Oakland for No Reason" is an extremely moving poem and brings up several different interesting topics such as animal rights and the job that our police do. I feel like the police should be more interested in dealing with real threats to a community rather that a baby deer. Especially in the city of Oakland there are a lot more dangerous and criminalistic people that the police should be trying to arrest and that cause a much more dangerous threat to society than a fawn. Also, its interesting to look at the differences between the way people across the country view animals. If that fawn would have entered a city in somewhere like Davis than the animal would easily get some assistance out of the city, but in a not so out in the open city like Oakland that deer stood no chance and its sad.
ReplyDeleteNot only acknowledge others' belief systems but also have some common morality. It was just a fawn! It is sad to know that this happened. I found it very interesting to read what Mumeishi said about how these animals are wild and can cause problems such as car accidents. I will completely agree with Mumeishi on that. I would like to hear the police officers' comments on the situation. Maybe they had similar reasons for killing the fawn. I have not seen the video, but I believe they used excess force to kill the fawn? If this is so, this is not cool at all. They should have called animal control, (as mumeishi said) or at least ended the fawns life in a decent manner, not as target practice. It seems so inhumane...
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about the mistreatment about the fawn. every creature on Earth has a freedom to live and enjoy the life. But, this police just brutally abused the fawn to death and used its body to be a shooting practice. The police action was unforgivable. Moreover, this incidence was only one of the many animal abuse cases. Nowadays, there are many animal abusive cases happening everyday. In order to save the animals, the government should set up a special department to fight for justice for the little animals.
ReplyDeleteI find it ironic that since police were involved that this offense was blown so much out of proportion. In terms of animal cruility, it wasnt as bad as say all the starved mustang horses they keep on ranches or execute, or even the animal abuse that happens towards dogs and cats. Why do They take this case to go crazy over? My question is, what is the difference between a cop shooting a deer in a neighborhood and a hunter shoot a deer in the woods? Neither do i support, but why is ridicule not placed onto hunters as well? they actually go out and SEEK out animals, this fawn stumbled into the suburbs. No one investigates the hunter who put 15 bullets in a deer and leaves the carcass for the coyotes. Or the hunter who keeps the severed heads as trophies.
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