Woman Arrested After Refusal to Surrender "Pet" Deer

With the rise in popularity for urban hunting, we are seeing more and more landowners and homeowners staking their claim on wildlife that frequent their yard or property.

You’ve likely heard it before; “That’s my deer!”

And while it can often come from another hunter that’s calling dibs on a buck he or she has on trail camera, more often it’s the not-so-sweet lady that’s been chumming corn out back to keep “her deer” close to the yard and away from hunters.

But how far is too far when it comes to laying claim to wild animals?

One Pennsylvania woman recently found out the difference in wild deer and pet deer when an encounter with the authorities over a deer she considered her pet led to her arrest.

Tammy Shiery of Bullskin Township not only claimed the whitetail deer to be her pet, she also gave it a dog collar and even got it vaccinated.

However, the problem started when Pennsylvania Game Commission informed her that her actions were illegal.

Shiery says she had the paperwork to prove the 2-year-old buck she calls “Baby” is hers. Yet, the game commission took the deer away.

According to neighbors, the deer was raised as a pet from the time it was first discovered as a fawn. Shiery had the deer vaccinated and even castrated by a vet in hopes of keeping it calm.

“He had all the vaccines that they do for deer farms,” Shiery said.

Unfortunately, that’s not how the system works. The PA Game Commission came on the scene and informed Shiery of the Pennsylvania law that states it is illegal to own and try to domesticate a wild animal.

Shiery tried to stop them. And that’s when things got ugly.

Police came on the scene and arrested Shiery. She was hauled away in handcuffs, apparently putting up more of a fight than the deer she was trying to save.

According to the rules and regulations, deer can be legally kept as pets in Pennsylvania if they are born in captivity and licensed as domestic. At that point, they fall under the Department of Agriculture’s jurisdiction.

The deer Shiery was fighting for was not born in captivity. Therefore it comes under the Game Commission’s jurisdiction and cannot be considered domestic.

According to the Game Commission, the confiscated deer has not been euthanized, and they are working on the next steps for its release.

Brodie Swisher

Brodie Swisher is a world champion game caller, outdoor writer, seminar speaker and Editor for Bowhunting.com. Brodie and his family live in the Kentucky Lake area of west Tennessee.

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