Police in Czechoslovakia are asking the public to be on the lookout for a deer carrying a rifle – which the animal inadvertently stole from a hunter.
“If anyone finds the weapon, they are obliged to hand it over to the nearest police department,” Police of the Czech Republic stated in a news release.
The agency reported that last Friday “an older hunter” was with other hunters in the forest near Horní Planá in the South Bohemian region, when a hunting dog startled a deer.
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The deer charged toward and past the hunter, but not before its antlers tore the man’s sleeve and caught the strap of his .22-caliber rifle, tearing the weapon from his grip.
According to Police of the Czech Republic, another hunter later reported seeing a deer with a rifle dangling from its antlers about a mile away.
“The hunters, of course, searched the forest, but did not find a weapon,” Police of the Czech Republic stated. “The hunters had no choice but to report everything to the police.”
Thankfully, the agency added, the man who lost his rifle to the deer claimed that the weapon was not loaded.
–Deer image is generic