Fury as police sniper kills rare white stag roaming town streets of Bootle, Merseyside
Fury as police sniper kills rare white stag roaming town streets: Uproar over shooting after RSPCA officers said the animal would ‘make its own way back home’
Police sniper shot dead a majestic white stag in Bootle, Merseyside on Sunday The animal strayed from the countryside and ran terrified through the streetsKilling of rare stag sparked uproar among Liverpudlians who reacted with fury
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Legend has it that anyone who kills a white stag will be cursed for life.
But police on Merseyside are clearly untroubled by folklore.
A police sniper shot dead a majestic white stag after it strayed from the countryside and ran terrified through the streets of Bootle.
The killing – against advice from RSPCA officers who said it would ‘make its own way back home’ – sparked uproar.
Lost: A police sniper shot dead a majestic white stag (pictured) after it strayed from the countryside and ran terrified through the streets of Bootle in Merseyside
Residents had spotted the rare stag running through the town on Sunday morning.
Police ‘corralled’ it on an industrial estate and a vet was called.
A police spokesman said officers sought expert help to recover the deer safely ‘but unfortunately we were unable to get assistance and as the hours went by the deer became more distressed.
There was no option to let the deer wander as it could be a danger to motorists and the public.
The killing – against advice from RSPCA officers who said it would ‘make its own way back home’ – sparked uproar among residents had spotted the rare stag running through the town on Sunday morning
As a result, a decision was made in the early evening to euthanise the deer’.
Liverpudlians reacted with fury. Jane Haigh wrote on Facebook: ‘What an utter and complete waste of a beautiful animal. The stag could have been tranquilised and then removed to a safe place.’
But Charles Smith-Jones, of the British Deer Society, said: ‘A large wild animal doesn’t collapse on the spot when it’s darted – it’s liable to run off which could have caused even more of a hazard.’
