Police said the animal posed a danger to the public after entering a school’s grounds.
A deer has been shot dead by police after it was spotted roaming in a school’s grounds.
South Yorkshire Police said they were called to reports the “stag was posing a danger to pupils, staff, and other members of the public” near Greenhill Primary School in Sheffield on Monday morning.
Officers were advised by a deer manager and specialist vet that a tranquiliser could not be used to sedate the animal as it would not take effect immediately.
Although the deer had moved on from the school, due to the “ongoing danger” a decision was taken to “humanely dispatch the animal out of view of the public”.
The armed response attracted some criticism on social media.
One person posted on Facebook: “The kids at Greenhill School will be very upset, my thoughts are why couldn’t they have found a way to save him.”
Another said: “I’m so shocked they shot this beautiful animal and disgusted it was frightened to death and had obviously lost its way.”
The force added: “We appreciate these incidents cause concern for the local community, and these decisions are never taken lightly.”
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