West Virginia man discovered with pet deer

A West Virginia man was charged for confining two deer in his home for over a year.

“I don’t see where I’ve hurt anything or done anything wrong, but I sure paid for it”, Chapman told WSAZ, a Charleston-Huntington TV station, after paying a $300 fine on Tuesday.

The West Virginia Natural Resources Police wrote in a Facebook post Monday that officers had received reports that Ronnie Chapman of Cabell County, located about 45 miles west of Charleston, had been keeping the two animals as pets.

“He had a six-point buck in the house and a spike buck in the house”, DNR police Sgt.

The officers, though, didn’t believe him.

The male occupant of the home was charged and prosecution is pending, according to the statement by police. The two deer were taken out of Chapman’s home a few days later. Addesa said officers set the deer free but because the animals were domesticated, they may be considered for relocation, The Associated Press reported.

“They are high-energy”, he added.

But they weren’t buck wild.

That appears to be the case here.

Authorities released both of the deer from the house, one of which darted quickly into the woods, according to the Post.

Chapman says he’s perplexed why he’s being persecuted for doing what he felt was the right thing.

“He’s not hurting anybody where he’s at”, he said of the older animal.

He says they’d come and go as they’d please, and he says they were only allowed in the front part of the home, which serves more as a porch. He’ll come in rut one day, and he’ll be gone.