Wisconsin juveniles shoot over 40 deer, 1 horse in ‘thrill kills,’ officials say

Wildlife officials in Wisconsin said two separate groups of juveniles are responsible for killing more than 40 deer and a horse.

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According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the animals are being shot and left behind in what agency spokesperson Lt. Robin Barnhardt called “thrill kills,” the Marshfield News-Herald reported.

In early November, people started reporting large numbers of deer being shot and left behind, Barnhardt, the DNR’s law enforcement supervisor, told the newspaper. Wildlife officials, aided by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, determined that two different groups of juveniles were behind the killings.

Barnhardt said the juveniles spotlighted the deer in fields after dark, the News-Herald reported. During one incident, someone shot a privately owned horse, the newspaper reported.

“It’s not hunting,” Barnhardt told the newspaper. “These young males had no regard for what they were doing or what was behind their targets.”

Barnhardt said eight teens are believed to be behind the killing, but it remains unclear if there is a connection among them, WSAW reported.

Barnhardt added that all of the killings occurred in rural areas of Clark County.

“There is a great concern for public safety in this case,” Barnhardt told WSAW. “These people didn’t give a lot of thought as to what was behind what they were shooting.”

Cox Media Group