Why you should call animal protection and not the game warden
A young doe strayed into the centre of Massagno near Lugano yesterday and was captured before being released back into the forest.
The animal, which was visibly frightened at having ended up in a residential area, was first sedated and then released back into the wild by the animal protection organisation Bellinzona (SPAB).
The decision was made to use remote sedation during the capture in order to “prevent the animal from panicking, running through the village and endangering itself and others,” explains the president of the SPAB.
We were alerted in the early afternoon of 8.6.2025 by the game warden, who was on site together with the municipal police of Ceresio Nord. After analysing the situation and understanding that the doe was unable to return to the forest on her own, our intervention was requested. A necessary measure to prevent the wild animal from panicking and running through the village, which would have endangered its own safety and that of the people it might have encountered, explains the president. The sedation took effect within approximately ten minutes and enabled us to transport the doe, which was then released into the Capriasca forest.
It is not the first time a wild animal has strayed into the city: “It is plausible that, startled by a dog, it fled towards the town rather than towards the forest. Urbanisation is advancing, more and more people are walking in the forests, and with that the likelihood of wild animals being disturbed increases.”
Hence the appeal: “Remember to keep your dogs under control and to put them on a lead if necessary. These animals are very sensitive to dogs. Otherwise the risk of injuring wild animals is very high.”
But there is something else that could unintentionally endanger the safety of these animals: “Never trust a wild animal: it is not a dog or a cat,” emphasizes the president of the SPAB. “With them, instinct prevails, so we cannot predict their behavior. Secondly, this is the time when deer and roe deer give birth, so you may find young animals wandering alone in the forests. But they were not abandoned. Do not touch them and under no circumstances move them. There is a risk that the mother will no longer accept them.” A more than justified warning: “Last week, three people picked up roe deer fawns and took them home, thereby endangering their survival.”
Hobby hunters have neither the mindset nor the equipment for such a heroic act. Wildlife rescues are carried out by firefighters, police officers, or ordinary citizens.
