A Key deer stuffed into an SUV has died, police say. Here’s what else was in the vehicle
The Key deer that state wildlife police found stuffed into an SUV on the Overseas Highway in the Keys on Sunday has died, according to a report released Wednesday.
The little buck had just suffered too much — paralyzed back legs and a shattered pelvis — Keys veterinarian Dr. Doug Mader determined. He examined the deer and reviewed X-rays, the report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.
It was euthanized on Monday at the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key.
At about 2 a.m. Sunday, a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy stopped a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse for failing to stay in a lane. Inside the SUV were four people, a large German Shepherd and an endangered Key deer that can only be found in the Keys.
The buck was lying on top of a cooler, metal lawn chairs and other random items, the FWC report says.
There was blood where the deer had been and marks on the roof made by the buck while it was “attempting to move or evade,” the state agency said.
Yoankis Hernandez Pena, 38, and Andres Leon Valdes, 45, face charges of animal cruelty and taking, possessing or selling a federally designated endangered or threatened species, county jail records show.
Each was released from jail after posted $100,000 bond. Valdes was freed on July 25, the day after his arrest, and Pena on July 26.
They told state wildlife officers that they had struck the deer on the north end of the Seven Mile Bridge in the Middle Keys and were taking it to a veterinarian in Miami. They didn’t call 911 or another government agency to report the injured deer.
The dog-sized deer are known only to roam south of the bridge on Big Pine Key and No Name Key.
The group said they had to “restrain/calm the deer down,” because it was moving in the car, FWC said.
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 3:55 PM.
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