Albino Deer Killed - Jerry Kinnaman is a 40-year-old Missouri hunter who is currently receiving death threats after killing a rare albino buck and posting photos of the kill on Facebook. After he had the albino deer killed Tuesday on a friend's property in Cape Girardeau County, outrage quickly spread on social media as photos of the dead buck went viral.
The albino deer killed was described by the Southeast Missourian as "arguably Cape Girardeau's most notorious deer." Kinnaman's kill, however legal, was a controversial one, according to MSN News.
"Not my biggest buck but at 7 1/2 years old he might be the oldest," Kinnaman wrote on Facebook together with photos of the albino deer killed. "Let the bashing begin!"
Because of this post and because the deer was in general a popular animal in Missouri, the hunter faced an intense array of backlash on the internet.
In an interview with The Post on Thursday, Kinnaman said that the backlash had already gotten so bad, that he has received death threats for the albino deer killed.
"People are all tough on the computer," he told the Washington Post, "but it's easy for them to say that because they know they're not going to get in trouble for it."
He added that he understands why people are upset.
"I was the same way as anybody else about this deer, so I understand the relationship some of these people have," said Kinnaman.
He also defended himself and claimed that the ageing albino deer killed was already in a poor state of health and would have died in a matter of months anyway.
"To all of you who have negative comments I say this: I know if you do not hunt it would be hard to for you to understand why I would take this animal. I knew that before I decided to harvest this animal. I can say this to you: first, after completely cleaning this animal I can tell you he had NO FAT on him for winter," the 40-year-old hunter said in a Facebook post yesterday.
"He Was extremely skinny. He had Been shot before. And his teeth were almost gone. We documented all of this tonight. He would have died painfully this winter," he added of the shooting of the albino deer killed.
"I did NOT shoot this deer to sell nor did I poach it. I contacted MO Department of Conservation right when I harvested him. All of this is documented. I will see if our Nature Center will like to display him for everyone to see when I get him back. Good night," he said.
Kinnaman may have had the albino deer killed legally on land, however he reportedly knew that he would be ridiculed for shooting the rare animal. According to reports, hunters who have had the opportunity to have the albino deer killed passed it up out of affection for the beast, including Kinnaman himself.
"I had a friend who let me hunt on his land a few years ago and I asked him, 'Would you be offended if I shot this deer?' and he said yes because it was so beautiful, you know?," he told the Southeast Missourian.
Eventually though, his friend changed opinion.
"He had people trespassing on his land (to see the deer) and it was getting to be too much of a hassle," Kinnaman said. "It got so bad that he came back to me and said, 'I want you to shoot this deer."
Kinnaman added that the albino deer killed had already been shot before, as it had wounds to the shoulder.
"I gave him a fair shot. He had a good life," Kinnaman explained. "He's famous. He still will be."
According to Kinnaman, the white deer killed had been on his mind as he took his bow to the woods before sunrise Tuesday. As such, he was able to spot the creature on a ridge with two does and said he drew it closer by grunting like a rival male.
"He came up looking like a monster when I made that grunt," said Kinnaman. "He came in ready to fight."
The first arrow glanced off a branch and just grazed the buck. Kinnaman decided to lure it again by using a doe call. From 25 yards away, he then shot an arrow into its side. Kinnaman had the albino deer killed after it ran about 30 yards, then collapsed and died, according to the Daily Mail.
For what it's worth, Kinnaman said he contacted a local conservation department office and confirmed that he hadn't broken any regulations when he had the albino deer killed.
Kinnaman said that after his taxidermist is done, he might donate the mount to a local nature center, so Cape residents can continue to enjoy the deer.
He also said on Thursday that he would have the meat of the aging animal given away the meat to a needy family, reports Reuters.
"There's a lot of rumors I shot this deer for a reward," he said. "I'm like 'no.'"
According to Dean Harre of the Missouri Department of Conservation, the albino deer killed got its albinism from a mutation, and culling it from the herd is neither objectionable nor illegal.
Jason Sumner, a Missouri Department of Conservation deer biologist, said albino deer are more vulnerable to predators since their strikingly white fur makes them stand out more.
The albino deer killed follows a similar incident in Michigan, where an 11-year-old shot and killed another albino buck. The boy, Gavin Dingman, was hunting with his father, Mick Dingman, when he shot the deer this October.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
