See more of our coverage in your search results.
What an ass.
A beloved therapy donkey has been killed by a hunter – who blamed it on his bad shot.
Angelique was with the rest of her herd in her pen at the Hasty’s Haven sanctuary in South Carolina when she was struck by a stray bullet on Sunday, the first day of the hunting season.
The donkey — a former therapy animal for special needs kids — had lived at the sanctuary for several years before she was “taken violently and in a negligent manner” by someone “hunting less than 300 yards from our fence line,” the center’s bosses said.
The hunter, who has not been publicly named, has since been charged with negligent use of a firearm and hunting within 300 yards of a residence following the Belton shooting.
He faces a maximum fine of $200 and potentially 30 days in jail.
He claimed his intended target was a deer, rather than the donkey — an excuse that irked her owners.
“Hunting 101, know your target!” they wrote in a Facebook post Monday.
“Deer are light brown. Angelique was a dark colored donkey.”
“Did he think Angelique was a deer? I don’t know and don’t care what his story is,” the bewildered owner said, who described the donkey’s death as a “nightmare we can’t wake up from.”
The hunter is set to appear in court on Nov. 11 – and Angelique’s owners have vowed to be there, revealing they are pursuing further litigation.
“We will be filing a civil suit,” they said. “This cannot happen ever again.”
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources described the shooting as an “unfortunate incident.”
“Hunters must always positively identify their target, be aware of what lies beyond it, and ensure they are shooting in a safe direction,” a spokesperson said.
The shooting comes a month after Georgia cop Trenton Garner shot beloved 1-year-old donkey HeeHaw in his pasture at the Elsberry Riding and Farm ranch in Rockmart, Ga.
The cop claimed he shot the animal because it was charging at him.