Lexington wildlife rescuer says state officials seized animals over permit issue
A Lexington-based wildlife rescuer said she is devastated after state officials seized some of her facility’s animals last week.
Karen Bailey, founder of the Kentucky Wildlife Center, said three otters and six raccoons were seized Thursday by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, according to social media posts.
“To say the least, we are beyond devastated,” Bailey wrote on Facebook.
Bailey has been charged with holding protected wildlife without a permit, WKYT reported.
Bailey said she has had a permit to operate since 2006 and has had a good working relationship with conservation officers.
However, she wrote that administrative regulations have changed recently, and she thinks the “raid” at the center “may be part of a larger ongoing issue that we have had with several individuals at KDFWR headquarters.”
“We have always exceeded compliance and our officers believed us to be in full compliance with current permits. We were only made aware of the discrepancy in the last few weeks,” Bailey wrote in the social media post.
“We immediately apologized and acknowledged that we were honestly unaware. We said we would resolve any issue immediately. We asked multiple times what we needed to do and what permit we needed. The KDFWR officers said they weren’t sure and would find out. We repeatedly followed up, but our officers weren’t given any guidance (to my knowledge) as how to proceed.”
Bailey said the North American river otters and “education ambassador raccoons” taken by the fish and wildlife officials ranged in age from 4 to 9 years.
“These are all older animals that don’t handle change well nor will they feel safe being cared for by people they don’t know,” she wrote.
“I can’t even begin to imagine how scared and confused they felt and must still feel.”
She said she had been unable to get information from state officials about the status of the animals.
The fish and wildlife department told WKYT in a statement that it began investigating after receiving a complaint in June “that expressed concern about the welfare” of the animals in Bailey’s care.
“With the animals now in the care of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, a determination will be made later regarding the eventual disposition of the animals based on available facility and medical records of the animals,” the statement said.
The Kentucky Wildlife Center’s website says the nonprofit takes in more than 2,000 animals each year with a goal of rehabilitating them and releasing them back into the wild.
