A heartbroken South Australian rural family is appealing to feral deer hunters to be careful after their much-loved pet named Bambi was shot and gutted on their property.
Limestone Coast resident Matt Burdon – who farms at Glencoe –described the incident as "gruesome" and shocking for his children.
"It was a very emotional morning yesterday at my house … what's happened has devastated our little family," Mr Burdon said.
He said their six-year-old pet deer, Bambi, was fitted with a collar and was in a herd of cattle.
"Anyone who has done a fair bit of hunting would realise it wasn't a wild deer, she was the kids' pet."
He said Bambi was an orphan deer adopted by the family and named after the character from the Disney movie.
"She grew up on our little property out of Lake Leake. She grew up in the chook shed with the chickens," Mr Burdon said.
Mr Burdon said his son, 13, checked on the cows that were calving before heading to school.
"I've actually been done some research down the paddock, and I've seen where they've shot her, they've gutted her in the paddock — they've dragged into the corner of the paddock, run over the fence, dragging it down onto the road."
He said it appeared Bambi was shot from the road with some kind of high-powered rifle because she was a fairly big animal.
"She was 140 kilograms. And that's the last place I've seen her … I assume she's been shot off the road and taken away to be butchered."
While Bambi initially roamed around the house's yard, she migrated to the small herd of cattle at the back of the property.
"So, she stayed there for about five years. Every time we went down the paddock, she'd come up for a cuddle or a scratch. Yeah, she was really quiet, really friendly."
Police said they were investigating the incident and have asked anyone with information that may assist to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Mr Burdon said the family had contacted police, who said offences for this incident may include property damage and trespass offences.
"We've had some information come in this morning, which has given us some closure. We are handling it privately," he said.
But he said he wanted to remind hunters in the region to be mindful of the rules.
"I am a hunter myself. We hunt during the wintertime mostly foxes. I'm not a deer hunter but everyone's into their own thing they do. This is just the lack of respect for people's property," he said.
"Especially into larger properties, we call it poaching. But there are a lot of unethical things going on for sure."
Mr Burdon said he has been overwhelmed by the community support, with his Facebook post being shared almost 500 times.
"A lot of people I don't even know reached out to us, it's put a bit of faith back in me," he said.
