Residents in Argyll say they are living in fear after a friendly and much-loved stag Stanley was shot to death, decapitated and dumped outside their homes.
Dawn Osbourne Harris, who lives with her husband and three dogs, in the loch-side village of Bonawe says she is concerned after the remains of the deer were discovered behind her home.
The stag, described as a loveable “scallywag” by Mrs Osbourne Harris, is believed to have been shot last week – and after a search by police was found to the rear of her home.
Police have an ongoing investigation into the death of Stanley – but say no criminality has been established yet.
‘Whoever shot Stanley should come before the courts’
Residents in Bonawe, which is a 30-minute drive north-east of Oban, said they heard shots in the night time with one neighbour witnessing a 4×4 vehicle used in the countryside.
Mrs Osbourne Harris believes whoever shot Stanley should be brought before the courts.
She said: “The saddest thing for me is that Stanley was so friendly that he would have just been standing there when whoever it was shot him. He would have trusted them.
“That makes me very upset to think of that.
“Don’t get me wrong, he was a scallywag, but we all just loved to see him. It has rocked us all, everyone in this small community is unnerved by this.
“For the last five years he has just been about us all. He was a local celebrity.”
One day Mrs Osbourne Harris reported seeing a tourist unable to drive by Stanley as he stood in the middle of the road.
She said: “I told him he would just have to wait there until Stanley was ready to move.”
Mrs Osbourne Harris said that while no one went out of their way to tame Stanley, he ate from all their gardens, including roots of plants and even daffodil bulbs.
‘Wrong time of year to shoot a deer’
In an attempt to stop Stanley from chewing on roots in gardens, she said some neighbours left out carrots and apples.
She continued: “This is the wrong time of year to shoot a deer. And they chopped off his head and left his body behind the houses.”
Red deer stags in Scotland can be shot between July 1 and October 20, hinds between October 21 and February 15.
She continued: “It has scared us, as it was so close to the houses. It really is beyond a joke that someone would do this.
“People live here and are on that hill, kids play out there, the dogs are here. Would they have shot the dog if it was out there? We are living in fear of it happening again.”
Councillor Julie McKenzie, who represents Oban North and Lorn, and who lives in one of the houses where the deer was dumped said she didn’t know if it was Stanley – but the deer was gunned down on Friday morning.
She said shots were heard across the village as people were waiting for the bus before 8am in the morning.
She said: “There appears to be conflicting information in relation to the events which took place which led to the death and decapitation of a red deer in our village.
“What is certain at this point is that the people who live here are all incredibly disturbed by this killing which appears to have taken place in very close proximity to our homes.
“The residents now require a full investigation and answers.”
Fundraiser for memorial to Stanley
A fundraiser has been set up to build a willow memorial to Stanley. A previous fundraiser was removed after confusion over whether Stanley had been killed or not.
The fundraiser has been set up by Oban resident Luna Martin.
She said: “Someone witnessed Stanley being shot on a local beach. His body was later found by police on the hillside with his head removed.
“Trophy hunters likely took the head to be stuffed.
“The police are still currently searching for the gunman as this was not only a senseless, pointless killing, but an illegal one as Stanley was a red stag and it was out with the season.
Police have launched an investigation into the death of Stanley.
Ian Hutchison, Oban community inspector, said: “Local police are following a positive line of inquiry.
“To date no criminality has been established. Inquiries are still ongoing.”
