Manitoba Conservation changes rules after Bambi killed at Hutterite colony

WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government has established new rules for wildlife officers after they shot and killed a deer in front of shocked residents at a Hutterite colony.

Conservation manager Jack Harrigan says officers must consult with supervisors and can only destroy animals as a last resort.

They will also be allowed to use tranquilizer guns on deer and other animals — previously they could only tranquilize bears.

Members of the Windy Bay Colony in southwestern Manitoba found a white-tailed fawn shortly after it was born last year, named it Bambi and raised it on fresh bread and sweet tea.

It often played with children at the colony but in February, when the young buck started growing antlers, a concerned member called the wildlife department.

Officers determined the deer had become too habituated to be released back into the forest and they shot it on a colony street.