It had been close to two years since the Mcgaughey family, from the state of Kansas, started taking care of Faline, a young deer who had been abandoned by her mother.As theWashington Post reports, the animal - less than one year old at the time - had followed Kim Mcgaughey to her home. From there, the deer established a unique relationship with the Mcguaghey's, to the point of being essentially their pet.
Source: Taryn Mcgaughey
Faline was fed and spoiled by her new family. She wandered freely aroundtheir home, laying next to Kim while she watched television or played with her eight-year-old son. She "thought she was a dog" according to Taryn Mcgaughey, Kim's daughter.However, Kim made sure that Faline knew that she was able to leave whenever she needed or wanted to... it was just never the case.Sadly, on December 19, two rangersshowed up at the Kim Mcgaughey's work. According to Kansas law, it's necessary to have a specific permit to keep a wild animal as a pet. They informed the family of this and that they had the obligation to "seize" the doe and seemed to have all the legal ability to do so.
Source: Taryn Mcgaughey
Devastated, she tried to contact zoos in the region who would be willing to take in the deer. But she wouldn't have time to receive a response from them. That same day, three of the game wardens took Faline, and killed her, claiming that wild animals becoming unafraid of humans represented a security threat to the local population.Taryn Mcgaughey, present at the time, filmed the heartbreaking scene. In the video she asks the men if they intend to shoot the doe in the head, he responded yes, that it was the only way to "resolve the problem."
Source: Taryn Mcgaughey
The sequence shows the men following the deer, who walks quickly in the opposite direction, but doesn't run, despite encouragement from Taryn to do so. A few moments later, gunshots can be heard, and Taryn broke into sobs.
Revolted, the Mcgaughey family filed a complaint against the wildlife commission of Kansas, stating that other solutions could have and should have been found. The department in question is currently looking over the case "to see what we can learn and make sure these types of situations are handled differently in the future."
H/t: The Washington Post
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