VICTORIA -- A mid-island resident is facing a hefty fine after conservation officers ticketed them for unlawfully keeping a fawn.

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service (COS) says it received a report of the baby deer and seized it from a home in Cumberland on Aug. 12.

Fawn

COS deputy chief Chris Doyle says the fawn has since been taken in for assessment and will be rehabilitated and returned to the wild if it is deemed healthy enough.

Meanwhile, the Cumberland resident is on the hook for a $345 fine for unlawfully possessing live wildlife.

Fawn

Doyle says that if anyone is concerned about the well-being of a wild animal, like a young deer, they should contact the conservation service’s RAPP (Report all Poachers and Polluters) hotline at 1-877-952-7277.