Woman Upset After Piebald Deer Is Killed Near Her Hampton Bays Home

A Hampton Bays woman said she is “devastated” after a mostly white piebald deer that had been a frequent visitor to her yard for the past half decade was found dead near her Main Street home last week.

Cathleen Jackson, who rents her home that sits next door to a patch of woods, said she found the female deer at around 9:30 a.m. last Thursday, October 12. She said she thinks it was shot with a rifle, though she does not recall hearing any gunshots the prior evening. She explained that she had her “windows closed” and “television on” when she thinks the animal was shot and killed.

A picture of the dead deer taken by Ms. Jackson shows what appears to be a triangular-shaped entry wound that Michael Tessitore of East Quogue, founder of the group Hunters for Deer, said suggests that it was killed legally with a compound bow. Bow hunting season began on October 1.

“They either heard a gunshot or they didn’t. I doubt it was a gunshot,” Mr. Tessitore said on Tuesday.

He added that there are no restrictions on killing piebald deer, regardless of their unusual color.

“What’s the difference if it’s white or brown?” Mr. Tessitore said. “It’s not a unicorn—it’s a wild animal.”

He also pointed out that the wooded area directly behind Ms. Jackson’s home is a legal hunting ground, and insisted that the deer—its carcass was removed by an unknown person shortly after Ms. Jackson found it—most likely was taken down with a compound bow.

Ms. Jackson said she reported the killing to Southampton Town Police immediately after she discovered the animal but noted that someone, possibly the hunter, retrieved it about an hour later. She added that after the deer was removed from her property she observed a “trail of blood leading into the woods.”

“You committed a crime—and I hope you get what you deserve,” she said in a Letter to the Editor that is published in this week’s newspaper.

Southampton Town Police Lieutenant Susan Ralph said there was no report on file regarding the incident.