Cell phone video acquired by Vermont wildlife officials that depicts a 21-year-old Vermont man petting a deer he illegally wounded, while saying “good boy” just before killing the animal, has gotten himself into even more hot water with animal rights advocates.
The video taken last year has been integral to the slew of charges brought against the young man for a number of incidents taking place in October and November of 2022. In addition to the violation charges, including hunting with a revoked license, he is now set to square up against animal rights groups for possible animal cruelty charges.
According to an affidavit, state game warden William Seeger plainly states that the buck was still alive while the accused treated it like a pet of some kind.
“The buck can be seen panting, likely with some type of spinal trauma from a broadhead or bullet wound, rendering it mostly paralyzed,” Seeger wrote. The hunter and a friend can be heard in the videos, with the hunter “petting the deer and saying, ’Good boy’, as if it were a dog or other pet,” the affidavit states. Photos were also taken of the deer alive in the barn and then later of a deceased deer hanging in what appeared to be the hay barn, Seeger wrote.
In many states, animal cruelty laws regarding hunting are regulated through rules about legal weapons, calibers, hours and seasons, thus barring hunters from using methods that could be inhumane. Lindsay Thomas Jr., of The National Deer Alliance believes that state wildlife agencies still have the ability to bring charges or work with state police to bring charges in cases such as this.
There’s a clear difference between a hunter and a poacher, Thomas Jr. added.
The reports have sparked a response from Protect Our Wildlife Vermont, a non-profit that would like to see animal cruelty charges laid.
“We would like the state to pursue cruelty to animal charges on this because the definition is tormenting and torturing an animal, and it’s our position that this falls outside of the bounds of legal hunting,” said Brenna Galdenzi, president of Protect Our Wildlife. “This is not hunting what he did, so the exemption that’s provided to hunters should not be afforded.”
The warden estimated that the buck suffered for about 30 minutes before the accused finished it off with another arrow.
Galdenzi and others have called the incident ‘egregious’ and she has stated that Protect Our Wildlife Vermont will be working with the legislature to alter the exemption in Vermont’s anti-cruelty law by adding the word “lawful” to those activities that fall under the purview of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“I think we need to show that just because you’re a hunter or a trapper, it doesn’t mean that you can behave in exceptionally cruel ways and still be protected under the hunting umbrella,” she said.
