A man from Antimony is upset with the division of wildlife resources after he claims they shot a gun on his property at a deer he helped raise.

According to Cole Montague, a DWR officer came to his property on Jan. 8th while no one was home and shot a deer that was on his property. A neighbor called Montague to tell him what was happening and when his wife got home the deer was laying on the ground next to the officer.

The shot did not kill the deer, the bullet passed through its nasal cavity, and Montague said that the deer sprung up and ran into his back yard. After this he said that the DWR officer proceeded to walk around his and his neighbors property with a rifle, hunting the deer.

According to an official statement released by the DWR, they were notified on Jan. 7th by the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office that a deer had killed a dog in Antimony and their conservation officer responded to the scene the next day.

While there, the officer located the deer and tried to make contact with the homeowner, but it appeared as though no one was home. In the statement they told that “due to public safety concerns, it was important that an attempt was made to euthanize the deer.”

After the officer unsuccessfully attempted to catch the deer, he attempted to dispatch it following the division’s euthanasia policy, only after making sure he could do so safely.

In the release the DWR stated that “in circumstances like this public safety is most important. The deer’s behavior showed a lack of natural wariness for humans. We understand that the deer may have previously been cared for by people in its early life and became habituated to humans. We appreciate that people care about this deer and Utah’s other wildlife. However, the best way to help wild animals to live long, happy lives is to leave them alone so they maintain a natural fear of people and their pets – which helps prevent human and wildlife conflicts.”

Montague recounted the story of how he hit the deer’s mother in his truck and that he then saved the baby and he and his dogs helped raise it. He also said that he never caged the animal, never gave it a collar, and that the claim that it killed someones dog is untrue.

This story was updated on Jan. 10 at 11:00 a.m. after receiving the official press release from the DWR.