"Lefty" the deer that wondered into Jackie Robinson Park and delighted Harlem residents was killed by the city. The city then tried to blame Governor Cuomo who had directed the State DEC to offer assistance and transport the animal to a new habitat which the city said came too late. Animal rights advocates have long decried the States' blanket regulations that prohibit wildlife from being relocated which results in an automatic death sentence for the animal. Several weeks ago the Governor had a change of heart and signed a bill that protects one species, the Muted Swann after vetoing State Senator Tony Avella's legislation twice. (Photo: Andrew Savulich/NewYork Daily News)
Manhattan
By Geoffrey Croft
By Geoffrey Croft
The beloved white-tailed deer that wondered into a Harlem park two weeks ago died yesterday in city custody after being tranquilized.
The deer had become a welcome visitor in Jackie Robinson Park for area residents. They city however had announced its intention to kill the deer.
On Thursday the deer jumped a fence and migrated into the near by Polo Grounds NYCHA projects where police captured and tranquilized it. The deer was moved to Animal Care Centers of NYC shelter on East 110th Street.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo office stepped in on Thursday and said the State DEC was willing to prevent it being killed and offered to have the deer transported out of the city.
“Over the last day the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation advised the City of New York that there are alternatives to euthanasia that they can consider including relocation, “ a spokesman for the Governor said in a statement.
“The City has now captured the deer and Governor Cuomo has directed DEC to offer assistance to the City to transport and find a new habitat for it immediately.”
On Friday morning an ignorant Mayor Bill de Blasio gave his assessment on the prospects of the deers’ life.
“If a deer is already in a natural location and you can leave them there, then they have a chance of survival, but if not, you don’t really have another option,” The Mayor said on the Brian Lehrer radio show.
“It’s a question of is it going to be a quick and merciful death versus potentially a very long painful process.”
Yesterday morning just before 8:30am the Governor took to Twitter.
"We want to do everything we can to save the Harlem deer. We have told the city that the feds or we can transport it upstate today.”
When workers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the federal Department of Agriculture arrived at the Animal Care and Control Shelter the deer was dead.
When workers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the federal Department of Agriculture arrived at the Animal Care and Control Shelter the deer was dead.
Just before 2 p.m. Parks’ spokesman Sam Biederman announced that the deer had died and blamed the state.
“Unfortunately because of the time we had to wait for D.E.C. to come and transport the deer, the deer has perished,” Biederman told reporters, adding that the city had wanted to euthanize the deer all along.
"This was an animal that was under a great deal of stress for the past 24 hours and had been tranquilized for much of that.”
"This was an animal that was under a great deal of stress for the past 24 hours and had been tranquilized for much of that.”
The State Environmental Conservation Department did not agree with the Parks Department's press office assessment.
“We offered yesterday to take possession of the deer and transport it to a suitable habitat,” the Environmental Conservation Department said in a statement.
“The city did not accept our offer until just before noon today, and while we were arriving on scene the deer died in the city’s possession."
The city got what it wanted all along and killed the deer.
The issue has garnered a significant amount of publicity with the media playing up the supposed feud between Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio angle which played out on the front pages of two newspapers.
The issue has garnered a significant amount of publicity with the media playing up the supposed feud between Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio angle which played out on the front pages of two newspapers.
Read More:
New York Times - December 16, 2016 - By Andy Newman
New York Daily News - December 17, 2016 - By Lisa L. Colangelo, Jennifer Fermino, Larry McShane
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