FourWands Wildlife Rehabilitation Legal Defense

Many of you are familiar with the plight to #SavePeanut but I will tell the story again here for those that are not.

In October of 2017, I was contacted by VT State Game Warden Mark Schichtle about a squirrel that had been confiscated as an illegal pet. Peanut was a beloved family member who had been raised by a child in the family from a tiny pinky baby and had lived with them for 3 or 4 years before she was reported. The family, defensive of their pet, threatened the life of the Warden. Ultimately, an agreement was made involving the Warden and the State Veterinarian at the time. The squirrel would be brought to a licensed rehabber and would be able to live out her life there. I agreed to take Peanut and she arrived here on October 19, 2017.
Because of improper feeding, Peanut was beginning to develop cloudiness with her previous keepers and because she was being kept illegally, they could not find a veterinarian to treat her eyes.
Once Peanut arrived here, she went to visit a veterinary ophthalmologist
and was subsequently diagnosed with cataracts. In the years that Peanut has been here, she has had further mineralization in her eyes and can see very little. She is an otherwise happy, healthy squirrel given ample stimulation with toys.
Game Warden Mark Schichtle has since retired. The State Veterinarian is no longer the same person who made that arrangement.
And now, the new head warden at Vermont Fish and Wildlife is saying that keeping Peanut for as long as I have is a violation, my license will be revoked and they want to come and confiscate her to kill her. In January 2020 I was on the cover of Vermont's biggest newspaper and the Head Warden called me a "Rehabber in good standing". Peanut was on my paperwork then. The only thing that has changed is the staff at VT Fish & Wildlife.
Vermont Fish & Wildlife reneged on their arrangement and they want to euthanize a blind squirrel simply because they want to enforce rules. These are rules THEY made and rules THEY chose to bend in order to save the Game Warden AND Peanut's life.
On January 6, a game warden that I am unfamiliar with arrived at my door, unannounced, with a teenage "shadowing him".  The warden asked to be let in and I refused as it is a violation of the Governor's Executive Order on Covid19.  He questioned me about a groundhog in my care and I brought her, in her cage, out onto my porch for him to see.  I answered his questions, provided documentation including x-rays that the groundhog had pneumonia and I removed photos that he insisted I remove from my social media pages.  Then he began asking questions about Peanut. 
Two days later, I spoke to his boss and was told that we could do an inspection later in the year when all the other rehabbers in the state were getting their inspections.  I thought the issue was resolved.

On February 25th, I received a letter saying I had multiple violations that they had discovered on their visit here and they wanted me to "come into compliance" or they revoke my license.   The first issue they mentioned was the existence of Peanut. 

We hired an attorney to respond to their letter.

On March 5th, Vermont Fish and Wildlife sent a letter saying they will revoke my license on March 15th if I do not request a hearing or come to a settlement with them by that time.  My attorney has responded.

(In the meantime, many have left comments on VT Fish & Wildlife's Facebook page and they are DELETING THEM.  VT Fish & Wildlife is a government agency and silencing your comments is a violation of the First Amendment.)

While I am a registered 501(c)3 organization, I don't funds that are donated to my non-profit to cover my legal fees.  Those donations always have and always will go to the care of the animals so I am setting up this fund separately.

The Department's plan is obvious.  Revoke my license, take Peanut to a rehabber will be afraid to object to them destroying her or just outright euthanizing immediately.  This serves to intimidate the wildlife rehabilitators in this state and, really, across the entire country.   

Peanut's story and my fight against Vermont Fish and Wildlife is a fight for wildlife, the dedicated, deeply committed rehabilitators who sacrifice their time and their own money to save wildlife in need and the communities they serve in providing injured and/or orphaned wildlife much needed care.  I am one of the only rehabilitators that take squirrels in the northern half of my state and this year, because of my fight, I am going to be severely limited in what I am able to admit, and sadly, possibly restricted from taking anything at all.

If there is additional funding remaining after my legal fees are covered, the money will be used to continue providing care to the animals I take in.  Should my license be revoked, they will go to an organization to protect wildlife and the rehabbers that help them.