Rare White Stag Shot Dead By Police

Merseyside Police Slaughter Mythical Symbol Of Spirituality and Hope.

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

When a mysterious white stag appeared roaming the streets of Bootle on Merseyside earlier this week, many people were thrilled to see such a rare and enchanting wild creature in such unusual surroundings. For others, thoughts inevitably turned to myth and legend, the rare white stag having for many centuries been a mythical symbol of spirituality and hope across many cultures.

The killing of a white stag has always been taboo, with hunters throughout the ages refusing to kill one, believing that to do so would bring calamity and bad luck. Merseyside Police, however, either had no knowledge of these traditions or simply no respect for them when they decided to slaughter the rare white stag. They certainly had no respect for this beautiful and majestic animal’s right to life or desire to live in peace when the order was given for the tragic animal to be shot dead by a police marksman on Sunday.

I have no idea how this amazing animal came to be wandering around the streets of such a built-up area but I can only imagine his fear and confusion at being surrounded by humans and motor vehicles, concrete and buildings. No doubt all he wanted was to get back to the safety and familiarity of the fields and woods he called home and, indeed, that is exactly what the RSPCA thought, too. As animal welfare experts, they advised the police to leave the animal alone, give him some space and allow him to disappear back into the safety of the surrounding countryside.

But the police had other ideas. After a long chase, they finally cornered the stag in an industrial estate, actively preventing him from leaving, citing concerns about potential danger to traffic that the stag might pose. The possibility of darting the animal with a tranquiliser was discussed (they even had a veterinary surgeon standing by) but the police claim they were concerned that this would cause him to bolt into traffic, causing an accident. Surely, a police force as large and experienced as Merseyside could have set up some traffic controls and stopped traffic in the immediate vicinity while the deer was sedated, in order to avoid any accidents? After all, they’d been tracking the deer since Sunday morning and by this…