The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking information regarding a Key deer that was shot with a pellet gun and suffered major, unrelated injuries Thursday morning.
The deer was discovered Jan. 27 on Sugarloaf Key, where officials responded to a deer with major injuries. It had broken legs, which had become infected, said Dave Dipre, an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It was later found that the deer had also been shot with a pellet gun. The animal was taken to Cruz Animal Hospital and euthanized.
Fish and Wildlife Service officials are offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to conviction. Key deer are a highly endangered species only found in the Florida Keys. They have federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, and a refuge on Big Pine and No Name keys.
Dipre said because of their endangered status, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be handling the case. Dipre said it couldn’t be determined whether the shooting was intentional based on current information.
Dipre said it could not be determined what had caused the deer to have broken legs but that “certain presumptions can be made” since most of the time when Key deer sustain major injury such as broken legs, it’s due to being struck by a vehicle.