Wildlife rehabilitation specialists demanded change in Olympia Friday morning after three young deer and an elk calf were killed by the state last month.
They were seized from For Heaven's Sake Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation in Rochester.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says the law required the animals be seized and euthanized because they were too habituated to humans. For Heaven's Sake denied the claims and called the situation devastating.
Rehabbers rallied against what they called an abuse of power by WDFW, demanding a better legal process to make their case when accused of wrongdoing.
"Do you really want this to continue in a way where there are no limitations, there's no way for a rehabber to answer to the violations they're being told there are, they can't present evidence?" questioned rehabber Jasmine Fletcher-Glaze.
Fletcher-Glaze closed her facility after the Rochester incident, concerned something similar could happen to her or anyone else if policy and procedure did not change.
WDFW Director Jim Unsworth told the crowd that they're working on self-improvement and the agency values their partnership.
"We are working on it," he said. "What's the timeline on handling these kinds of issues? It's not an emergency. Can we take a breath, decide if there's a better way to do things? I think that's the kind of review we're working on right now."
