In the latest report of liberal taser usage by Colorado police, the the victim is unlikely to press charges. According to the Columbine Courrier, a young deer fell into the window well of a Littleton home and was trapped in the basement.
Sheriffs deputies and a Department of Wildlife official found the deer standing on a couch with no signs of injury. The DOW officer was reluctant to use his smallest tranquilizer dart for fear of injuring or killing the small deer.
That's when one of the officers suggested tasering the animal.
As the Courier reports:
The DOW officer thought that [using a taser] sounded like an excellent idea and would be safer -- not to mention more fair -- than a 3-on-1 wrestling match. So the deputies went into separate rooms, and the first one shot the animal with his taser. The deer ran into the next room and was shot by the other deputy. The animal ran away again and was trying to climb up the wall when the first officer ran up, put his taser on the animal's back and tased it again. The animal dropped to the floor.
The deer was safely taken up stairs and released in the front lawn with no visible signs of injury as it ran off.
This incident is part of a growing trend of animal encounters as residential reas expand into previously undeveloped areas.
But as the Department of Wildlife points out, people and wildlife can and do coexist (except for the occasional taser or dart).
In most situations, people and wildlife can coexist. The key is to respect the wildness of wildlife. "Wildlife" is just that--wild. Most dangerous and potentially harmful encounters occur because people fail to leave the animals alone.