WICHITA, Kan. _ A western Kansas family is angry that game wardens killed a deer that had been their pet for 22 months and "was like one of the family." Kim Mcgaughey said the deer would butt its head on the door to be let inside the house, go on walks with the family, snuggle with people and play with her grandson and dogs.
"She was a very much a big pet. There was no reason for her to be killed," said Mcgaughey, of rural Ulysses.
"Her being domesticated was her own doing," Mcgaughey said. "She chose to stay. I never kept her from going away and being with other deer."
It is illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet in Kansas. State wildlife officials say something had to be done about the 2-year-old mule deer.
At least two people have been killed in Kansas by pet deer, according to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. The department said it was trying to protect people from being physically injured by the deer, and eliminate the possibility of disease being passed to humans, livestock and other deer.
"In these cases our officers have to decide what options there are. That might be to relocate the animal, release it back into the wild or take it to some kind of rehab facility," said Mark Rankin, law enforcement assistant director for the wildlife department. "Unfortunately once they've become imprinted on people, (euthanasia) is almost always the final outcome. Our officers on the scene felt (shooting the deer) was about their only option."
Robin Jennison, the Wildlife and Parks secretary, said he's confident the game wardens acted within their authority, but would like the agency to reexamine its policy on euthanizing wildlife.
"All of our people have a real heart for wildlife. I can't imagine any of our employees enjoying something like this," Jennison said. "These things are never easy, but I think we really need to come up with policy that better handles these kinds of things."
