A pet deer on a Kansas farm was gunned down by state wildlife officials in front of its owners, outraging the Mcgaughey family and sparking a social media backlash.
Owner Taryn Mcgaughey told local news outlets in western Kansas that a game warden and two other officials showed up at her farm and shot her pet deer five times.
“They followed her around our horse pen. The first shot in the leg by a handgun,” Taryn told People.
“And then they followed her around our property shooting her four more times in the back like target practice. He told me it would be done as humane as possible.”
The doe, named Faline, after the character in Disney’s “Bambi” movie, was considered an illegal pet under Kansas law.
Mcgaughey said the wardens killed the deer just a few minutes after giving her a warning notice that the animal was an illegal pet.
The family helped the deer when it showed up on their property with a broken leg two years ago and it never left, Mcgaughey said. She said the animal was like a family dog and that it even slept in the house.
Now the Mcgaugheys are calling for the removal of the game warden, but Kansas State Wildlife officials say he was just doing his job. Officials also said deer can carry serious diseases that can spread to other animals, which is why they’re illegal to keep as pets
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