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this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2024
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… yeah, that’s how wildlife officials became aware of the situation. They aren’t remotely monitoring every squirrel.
And don’t feel too bad for him, he isn’t putting the squirrel’s welfare first at all:
A fucking bone sticking out and he didn’t even try to get the squirrel veterinary care, because it would have meant the squirrel was taken away. No vet is going to let someone without a rehabilitation license walk out with a wild animal they’re not competent to care for. And having a Really Cool Pet was just more important than, again, a BONE being exposed to the air.
I think you misread, he tried to do the "right thing" and release the squirrel back into the wild which resulted in the squirrel getting injured and coming back to him for help.
He didn't seek veterinary assistance because often euthanization is the outcome. Personally were I a squirrel I would prefer substandard medical care over execution...
I think the story is BS anyway.
I didn’t misread anything; keeping a juvenile squirrel you’re not qualified to care for and just plopping it outside after a few months is naturally going to fail.
After getting injured in a situation it was completely unequipped to handle, it returned to the only steady source of food and protection it recognized. This person then proceeded to get it zero medical care. Why should anyone who thinks it’s acceptable to leave an animal with a fucking bone sticking out of its body be trusted with the welfare of that animal?
Wildlife officials don’t resort to euthanasia every time a squirrel comes in. They want to be able to release it back into the wild, that’s the ideal resolution. Keeping that squirrel yourself because you want a quirky pet for internet attention basically guarantees they’ll get put down after they’ve lost their fear of people and have no survival skills.
Tl;dr: if you want a squirrel that badly, get the education and certification you need to actually understand how to take care of them. Otherwise you’re just going to fuck them up.
Yes, but the squirrel was kept because the owner killed their mother with a car on accident. This is not a case of "wanting a pet squirrel so badly" but trying to rectify a tragic accident.
Professional medical care == medical care. Treating that sort of injury requires some training, but it's a far cry from the extensive and critical medical procedure you're trying to sell it as.
A juvenile squirrel without a mother to learn from doesn't have a way to learn those survival skills without human intervention which will result in "lost their fear of people".
What education and certifications would those be?
Then you call a rehabbed not raise it yourself.
Trying to rectify a tragic accident is getting the squirrel to a rehabber. He wanted a pet squirrel.
A tail is part of an animal’s spine, not an accessory. Go find a vet that thinks any exposed bone, much less an exposed tail bone, is something you can bandage at home and forget about.
Rehabbers use techniques to keep animals from becoming habituated to humans and maintain their wild instincts, mainly keeping them away from humans as much as possible and not treating them as pets like this guy did.
Varies by state, but they’re certified on the state level and it usually requires at least a few years of college.
Animals aren’t toys for people to keep and play with if they really, really want to.