Detroit Animal Welfare Group clashes with DNR over habituated deer

Nonprofit under fire due to deer care

WARREN, Mich. – An unusual legal battle is brewing in Macomb County.

It involves an animal rescue group, the Michigan DNR and deer.

The Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) cares about wildlife -- including deer -- and the DNR is not happy about it.

Kelley LaBonty, who founded the Macomb County nonprofit roughly 15 years ago, said her group is committed to saving wildlife.

The DNR has accused the group of habituating wild deer, making them become used to the presence of humans.

“They don’t even know what deer they are, where they come from; they know nothing about the deer,” said Celeste Dunn, an attorney for DAWG.

The DNR has expressed concerns that habituated deer could spread infectious diseases or cause traffic accidents in neighborhoods. As a result, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office has become involved in the situation.

“It’s such a waste of taxpayer money and time,” LaBonty said. “Everybody’s time and money.”

Dunn added that LaBonty has a permit under Michigan law to rehabilitate wildlife -- including fawns.

In a lengthy statement, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido clarified that his office did not request charges against LaBonty; rather, they were initiated by the DNR’s experts in wildlife management and enforcement of Wildlife Conservation Orders.

“He has the authority to prosecute or not to prosecute and he chose to prosecute,” LaBonty said.

When questioned about allegations that the Detroit Animal Welfare Group misrepresents its work, LaBonty responded, “Lucido has never been to our farm, and so I don’t know what he would know about what was misrepresented.”

The Detroit Animal Welfare Group is calling for the charges to be dropped.

“I think they’re frivolous, I think they’re politically motivated by the DNR and we look forward to vindicating her,” Dunn said.

The group also believes that these charges stem from long-standing issues dating back to L. Brooks Patterson. Lucido addressed that, stating that the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office “does not have a longstanding vendetta against Ms. Labonty and is not seeking to shut down DAWG or do anything that would lead to the mass extermination of animals under the care of the organization as some commentators have claimed.”


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