Howell Woman Protests Possible Fine For Rescuing Baby Squirrels

HOWELL, NJ -- A Howell woman who is facing a possible fine for taking care of baby squirrels says she did not know she was violating state law.

Maria Vaccarella of Howell started the petition on the Change.org site a little over a week ago, after her first court date on a ticket she received in the mail from New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife in November, days after conservation officers confiscated the squirrels.

Vaccarella, in her petition, said she began raising the baby squirrels shortly after the Fourth of July. The mother was found on a neighbor’s lawn and appeared to be injured as it wouldn’t climb a tree, she wrote, so she and her husband put it in a box outside their home overnight. A couple days later, it gave birth to four babies, two of which died right away. The mother got herself caught in a hole in the cage, Vaccarella wrote, and when her husband freed it, the mother squirrel took off. When she didn’t return the next day, the Vaccarellas took the two surviving babies in.

Vaccarella says she called a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, who she says told her to keep the squirrels until May because winter was coming, and that in May, Vaccarella says, the rehabilitator said she would take them in.

That changed on Oct. 31, when conservation officers from the Division of Fish and Wildlife showed up at her door, she said.

“They said they saw a picture on Facebook that I had squirrels,” she said. “I said yes and I was proud to tell them the story on how I saved them.”

The conservation officers -- whom she refers to as “men in squad gear” -- told her she could not keep the squirrels and that they had to go to a rehabilitator, she said. She turned the animals over on the spot, she said, and received the summons in the mail a few weeks later.

The wildlife conservation officers investigated the situation in response to a tip from a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, who reported seeing Vaccarella’s photos on Facebook, said Bob Considine, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Wildlife conservation officers in New Jersey are fully sworn, armed law enforcement officers. While their primary responsibility is to enforce fisheries, wildlife and environmental regulations, they have the authority to enforce all of the state’s laws, according to the Division of Fish and Wildlife website. Conservation officers have been killed while trying to enforce those laws.

The rehabilitator’s report obligated the division to follow through with an official notice of violation of law, Considine said. Not following up opens the state up to legal challenges of failure to enforce the law from certified rehabilitators, he said.

“We understand there are many people who take in wildlife and have the best intentions, as clearly was the case with Mrs. Vaccarella,” Considine said via email. “And this is not a case we’re focusing any energy on.”

“However, domesticating any wildlife for an extended period of time, which was the case here, also puts these animals at great risk of being unable to survive in the natural habitat, where they belong,” he said.

Wildlife rehabilitators quoted in an article about keeping squirrels as pets -- which is illegal in many states in addition to New Jersey -- on the website VetzInsight say the list of reasons why you should not is lengthy.

Wildlife rehabilitator and veterinarian Terri Sutherland told the VetzInsight that squirrels’ nails and teeth are very sharp and can do a great deal of damage to a home or to a human if they bite a person, because they are designed for penetrating the bark of a tree.

They also require intensive daily care, Sutherland said.

“The squirrel owns you. If you want to go away, you will need to find a house sitter with a lot of patience and a high pain tolerance. Even overnight outings require a house sitter,” she said.

Marcia Ryback of Coast & Canyon Wildlife, a certified wildlife rehabilitation organization in Los Angeles, told the site squirrels can be aggressive because they are wild animals, and attacks can leave very painful wounds.

The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory website also urges people to contact a wildlife rehabilitator when they find an injured or orphaned wild animal, and to contact a veterinarian or the local Humane Society if a wild animal needs immediate assistance.

“Always remember the following,” the Wildlife Rehabilitation site says:

1. A young animal’s best chance for survival is to be raised by its natural mother. It is important to make every effort to try to return the young to its mother. ONLY after all efforts to reunite them have been exhaused should the orphan be removed from the wild. DO NOT try to raise the baby yourself.
2. All birds (except Pigeons, European Starlings, and House Sparrows) and most mammals are protected by law and it is illegal to have them in your possession without proper permits from the federal and state government.
3. Proper care and nutrition are crucial to the survival of the baby and any deficiency will more than likely cost the animal its life.
4. Baby animals easily imprint onto whoever is feeding them and steps are needed to prevent this. An animal that is imprinted on people cannot be released back into the wild and usually must be destroyed. NOTE: We frequently have people bring in babies they have been trying to raise themselves that are now having problems. These animals often have metabolic and nerve problems from an improper diet. We can save many more if we get them in right away.

“We encourage people who come across injured or orphaned wildlife to turn them over to a certified wildlife rehabilitator,” Considine said. “These laws are in place to protect people, as well as any creature from squirrels to deer, as wildlife can transmit diseases to humans.”

Considine said the state Division of Fish and Wildlife maintains a list of certified wildlife rehabilitators that people can contact. Click here for the list.

Vaccarella says the judge told her jail was a possibility, but Considine said the incident is a civil offense, not a criminal offense, and therefore only carries the potential for a fine. The fine for keeping captive game animals is $100 to $500, and Considine said in most cases, fines are not assessed for first offenses if the person pleads guilty.

Vaccarella, who said she has pleaded not guilty, says her next court date is Jan. 27 at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold.

(Squirrel photo, credit likeaduck, via Flickr, under Creative Commons license)