JACKIE NORMAN/Zo
The deer at Bannerman Park are a popular attraction in Gore.
The shooting of deer in a Gore park has sparked a police investigation.
A 4-year-old doe was found shot to death in Bannerman Park on Tuesday, according to a Facebook post from Gore District Council.
Bannerman Park is a family-friendly scenic park with walking trails, gardens and a deer park in the town of Gore.
The council’s message included the “tragic news” that one of the young female deer was found dead after being shot.
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“She was shot with a rifle sometime over the weekend,” the post read.
Delivered
One of the doe in the deer park in Bannerman Park has been found dead.
“Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have been a clean shot.”
On Tuesday morning, representatives from Gore District Council, the police and the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association visited the site, a council spokesman said.
The secretary of the Gore and Districts branch of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association said they would not comment and that it was now up to police to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Thehind was born and lived in the deer park all her life, the post said.
Trish MacKenzie/Stuff
Gore’s Bannerman Park is a popular place for recreation.
“We also have Romeo, our resident deer, and a fawn there.”
The council’s parks team considered installing security cameras in the area and other parks after the incident.
The message urges anyone who saw or saw anything suspicious to contact police by calling 105.