The deer walks around with a sofa cushion in its antlers – but people refuse to call for help

When Jan Engvig saw the roe deer outside his kitchen window on Innerøya in Kristiansund on Thursday morning, he quickly saw that something was wrong.

– He had something hanging from his antler, says Engvik, who managed to take a picture of the animal before it ran on.

Will not contact the Wildlife Board

Engvig was unsure what to do, and therefore posted the picture together with questions about tips on a local Facebook group. Then he was quickly told that it was not a good idea to call the game board in the municipality.

– If you call a committee, it goes off, write one.

– Just get shot, write another one.

– So many foolish suggestions, maybe sorry that this was published, now this healthy beautiful animal will probably be shot, it doesn’t look like this headgear is such a big problem, it will soon be gone, but there are probably many trigger-happy hunters here who are itching to the finger – unfortunately, comments a third.

It is not the first time an animal has strayed into the center of Kristiansund. Two years ago, a pregnant woman was almost shot by the police.

Asking people to think of the animal’s best interests

Lars Erling Koksvik is a wildlife manager in Kristiansund. He confirms that they received a message about the deer on Thursday and have now sent out a hunter. The plan is precisely to take the animal’s life, if it ends up on a farm.

Koksvik does not like to hear that people refuse to call.

– I don’t think anything of that. They have a duty to notify if animals are injured or have defects or are hit, he says.

– But have they become too eager?

– No, I don’t want to say that. People are moved emotionally, and they are nice animals, so I understand that. But we have a mission, so we have to stick to it. If animals laugh, we must take action.

He says it is a disadvantage for the animal to have a large pillow on its head.

– Hope Bambi gets to live

Roe deer and stags have become a major problem in the center of Kristiansund, and lead to constant collisions in traffic. The municipality has therefore decided that more animals will be shot than before.

On Thursday evening, according to plan, the Game Board will send a hunter out again, who will try to shoot the roe deer.

Jan Engvig, who posted the Facebook post, says he hopes the animal will live, although he understands that all game drives in the area are challenging. He says the roe deer looks healthy and well, and hopes the pada will disappear by itself.

– I hope he Bambi gets to live in peace this summer. For me, it’s just pleasant that the deer appears, he says.