It was stuck around his neck 🥺
In early September 2024, residents of Jasper, Georgia, spotted a tiny fawn wandering through yards with something unusual around his neck — a white object that turned out to be a piece of PVC pipe. The little deer still had its spots, showing he was only a few months old.
Concerned neighbors quickly realized the situation could become dangerous. The pipe could grow tighter as the fawn grew, potentially strangling him over time. A local resident reached out to Georgia Wildlife Network for help.
“If we didn’t get this pipe off, this animal could grow and slowly be strangled,” said Tiffany Greene, assistant director at Georgia Wildlife Network.
A Rescue Complicated by Hunting Season
Greene explained that the safest way to remove the pipe was to tranquilize the deer and carefully cut it off. For that, they needed assistance from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the only agency authorized to use tranquilizers on deer.
However, there was a challenge: deer hunting season in Georgia starts in mid-September, and DNR cannot tranquilize deer so close to hunting season.
A Community Keeps Watching
Months passed — autumn turned to winter, then spring. By summer, the fawn returned, now bigger and stronger, but still wearing the PVC pipe. Concerned residents began tracking the deer and reporting sightings to DNR, making it possible for officials to plan a safe rescue.
“This became a true community effort,” Greene said. “People were tracking him, reporting his movements, and providing everything DNR needed to save him.”
Finally Free
In July 2025, nearly nine months after the fawn was first spotted, DNR successfully tranquilized the deer and removed the pipe.
The fawn, unharmed, woke up and ran back to his herd, free to roam safely again.
Greene believes the fawn likely got the pipe stuck while eating from a homemade deer feeder. Wildlife officials now urge people to avoid building DIY feeders to prevent similar accidents.
“The effort of the community is what saved his life,” Greene said.
This story is a heartwarming reminder of how community vigilance and care for wildlife can make a real difference.