David & Goiliath Court battle - David = nutkin the squirrel

After epic court battle,
couple get to keep tame squirrel

(KRT) It was a classic fairy-tale struggle between a
muscular giant and a wee, furry creature of the forest.

At the center was a victim whose loved ones spent more
than $5,000 on legal fees to protect her and even
spirited her away to a "safe house" during their court
battle.

Supporters set up a Web site encouraging others to
fight for her freedom, and the American Bar Association
Journal chronicled her legal case in its November issue.

Just who is the object of all this attention? Why,
it's Nutkin, a tame, 10-year-old gray squirrel, with a
fondness for belly rubs.

The saga of Nutkin, named for the squirrel in the
Beatrix Potter tale, began two years ago when her
owners, a Schuylkill County couple, were charged by the
Pennsylvania Game Commission with possessing a "wild
animal" without a permit.

What followed was a test of wills. The couple asserted
that the commission should be working to stop people
from hunting illegally on private land and should leave
their squirrel alone.

But the commission said it was pursuing a violation of
the law and could not turn a blind eye to the squirrel.

After losses in two lower courts, Nutkin achieved
victory this month when the state Superior Court threw
out the charges.

The court wrote: "Nutkin would soon learn the shocking
truth that the cheery Pennsylvania slogan, 'You've got
a friend in Pennsylvania,' did not apply to critters
like Nutkin."

The squirrel celebrated on a tree limb in the room-size
outdoor enclosure where she spends most of her time,
munching on nuts and fruit.

"We don't have a lot of money, but we have our
priorities," said Barbara Gosselin, 67. "It's the
principle of the thing."

Gosselin and her husband, Jean, 73, a retired
commercial pilot, live on a forested property in
Schuylkill Haven, about 100 miles northwest of
Philadelphia. In the last decade they have created a
sanctuary for animals on their 77-acre plot, rescuing
injured groundhogs, feeding deer and birds, and taking
in the occasional stray cat. Nutkin is tame enough to
be handled and is brought indoors.

The three-judge panel concluded that keeping the
animal in Pennsylvania was not illegal because the
Gosselins came into possession of the squirrel in a
lawful manner. They had rescued the squirrel a number
of years before in South Carolina, where they were
living at the time and where raising wildlife is legal.

In an opinion that reads in part like a Potter tale,
Justice Joseph A. Hudock described Nutkin's youth in
South Carolina with "plenty of nuts to eat and trees to
climb."

The "dark clouds began to gather," Hudock wrote, in
November 2002, when a Game Commission officer was
called by the Gosselins to investigate illegal hunting
on their property, saw the squirrel, and issued the
couple a citation.

Hudock went on to suggest that Nutkin, if confiscated
by the commission, might well have ended up as
"squirrel stew."

"That's just flat wrong," said commission spokesman
Jerry Feaser, adding the Gosselins were told they could
pay a $155 fine and "take the squirrel to a licensed
wildlife rehabilitator."

But the Gosselins were appalled by the conditions at a
local wildlife refuge, so they decided to take to case
to court.

Barbara Gosselin accused the Game Commission of being
more interested in a squirrel than going after someone
who she said was illegally hunting on their property.

The commission does not have the authority to
prosecute trespassing, Feaser said. He said that the
Game Commission officer helped gather evidence and
called the state police to investigate the trespassing
complaint but that he could not ignore the presence of
the squirrel.

"It's like a police officer going on a domestic
violence call," Feaser said. "Do you ignore the drug
paraphernalia in the house?"

As the case wound its way through the courts, the
Gosselins said they lived in fear the Game Commission
would issue a warrant and seize their pet.

"We found a safe house for her for about a year in
another township," Gosselin said.

While the retired couple spent thousands of dollars on
their case, Feaser said it's impossible to determine
the amount the state spent.

Critics say the case illustrates a wider problem: that
the Game Commission has failed to adequately respond to
citizens' complaints about illegal hunting.

"It's absurd that the Game Commission would spend
years and use their legal resources to fight this case,
when we have such a problem of illegal hunting and
poaching," said Barbara Riebman, an officer with the
Mobilization for Animals-Pa. Inc., a nonprofit group
based in Bryn Mawr.

But Feaser said that last year the commission cited
more than 8,000 people for hunting illegally. Feaser
said the commission staff is reviewing the Superior
Court opinion to see whether it wants to appeal the decision.

For now, Nutkin, who experts say could live another 10
years, is spending her days lounging on tree limbs,
snacking on apples, and eagerly awaiting her nightly
belly rubs.

www.redteamracing.org

© 2004, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted by Permission
--
LP

"We are fighting today for security, for progress,
and for peace, not only for ourselves but for all
men, not only for one generation but for all
generations. We are fighting to cleanse the world
of ancient evils, ancient ills."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
State of the Union Address - 1942