WISN 12 News obtains DNR's records related to fawn takedown

[hue]

DNR emails reveal what led to raid, how Giggles was killed


http://www.wisn.com/news/wisn-12-news-obtains-dnrs-records-related-to-fawn-takedown/-/9373668/22746060/-/jixpowz/-/index.html?absolute=true

After a nationwide response to a WISN 12 News investigation on a raid at a Kenosha animal shelter, WISN 12 News reveals the chain of command that authorized 14 armed agents to hunt down a fawn.

The details come from the government's own records -- hundreds of pages of emails and documents that detail the planning for a raid to capture and kill a 20-pound deer known as Giggles.

VIDEO: WISN 12 News investigates what really happened to Giggles

Wisconsin law forbids the possession of wildlife, but many were stunned by the Department of Natural Resources' response to the baby deer.

WISN 12 News took the DNR's paperwork to the players for answers about an operation that's raised questions about government over-reaching and oversight.

She was a white-tailed fawn, abandoned by her mother, and, to Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources, an outlaw.

"Nine DNR agents and four deputy sheriffs, and they were all armed to the teeth," Ray Schulze, of St. Francis Shelter, said on Aug. 1.

Read more:

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[Scuba]

1. I don't buy the 45 death threats bullshit. That's a smear, plain and simple.

Let's see the emails.

[hue]

2. A snapshot of antisocial/cruel nature of WI's DNR: (Cathy Stepp was appointed by Wanker)

1.) Members of the "SWAT" group that "took down" the fawn expressed pleasure at doing so.

One DNR employee wrote, "I look forward to the event!!"

Another said, "I am looking forward to it, too," with a smiley face attached.

2.) Unwillingness to communicate with those involved in the incident. No calls or outreach before actions.

Records show that when the DNR got two anonymous tips that the shelter was harboring a baby deer, a warden dressed in camouflage and hid there for several hours over two days until he spotted the fawn by the barn...
"They never called. They never did anything in advance to say 'Do you have a baby deer on the property? We need to come out. We need to advise you you can't have him there.' I would have told them, he's going to a rescue," Schultz said.

3.) Unwillingness to communicate with public (who the DNR is supposed to be serving & receives their salary from) after the event. Thus they do not want to take responsibility for their actions. They blame Schultz for their actions & prefer a veil of secrecy.

Secretary Cathy Stepp oversees the DNR. WISN 12 News went to her Madison office, but additional inquiries were "reviewed and declined."

The only person willing to answer WISN 12 News' questions was Kenosha County Judge Jason Rossell.

Ironically, Schultz's name and phone number were released in the records.

"From what I read in their statements, you brought this upon yourself," Henry said.

4.) They lie.

After WISN 12 News first reported the raid, the DNR posted a statement on its Facebook page calling the operation a "difficult and emotional job" that "none of our staff take joy in," but emails between DNR employees suggest something else.

One DNR employee wrote, "I look forward to the event!!"

Another said, "I am looking forward to it, too," with a smiley face attached.

5.) More examples of taking pleasure in getting away with excessive cruelty and hiding from the responsibility of what they have done.

"She was 20 pounds, and we assumed they put her down the way you would a pet, the way a veterinarian would humanely euthanize it," Kobliska said.

Even more stunning, they said, was the series of congratulatory emails that followed: "Another successful capture of an illegally possessed deer." There was a smiley face in reply.

The writer boasts, "No arrests, no issues, no injuries… outstanding job!!!!" It's unclear who's congratulating whom because of the blacked out names.