Friendly deer won't leave home

A Florida man who made a deer his pet is being pressured to set it free because it is against the state's law to keep the animal.

Deer hunter Lee Powell never expected to fall in love with a deer, but that's exactly what happened.

"I love that rascal," Powell said about his pet deer Bucky. "His mama was laying along the roadside dead. I seen something moving and this little fella was laying right beside her," Powell remembered.


Even though the community treats Bucky like a star, at least one neighbour wasn't a fan. They reported Bucky to Florida Fish and Wildlife, who informed the Powells they were breaking state law.

But state law says that citizens can't buy a permit to have deer as pets and cannot transport wild animals, so the gates at the Powell home must be kept open for Bucky to roam free.

That is what he's been doing for five weeks, but he always comes home.