Two Florida men arrested after being found with endangered Key deer in car, deputies say

MARATHON, Fla. — Deputies in South Florida arrested two men for kidnapping an endangered Key deer.

On Sunday, around 1:55 a.m., Monroe County sheriff’s deputies pulled over a hatchback-style car for failing to stay in its lane, north of Sombrero Beach Road on U.S. 1 in Marathon.

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After pulling the car over, deputies found an injured Key deer inside the hatchback on top of a cooler, lawn chair and other items.

The two men in the car told deputies they hit the deer on U.S. 1 north of the Seven Mile Bridge and initially thought the deer was dead. The men told deputies that when they realized the deer was alive, they decided to take it to a veterinarian in Miami for treatment.

Both men stated they never called 911, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

FWC arrested Yoankis Hernandez Pena, 38, and Andres Leon Valdes, 45 and charged them with cruelty to animals and taking, possessing, or selling a federally designated endangered or threatened species.

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The deer was taken alive to U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials on Big Pine Key where it is being treated by a veterinarian. The deer will be released back into the wild if it survives.

According to a news release, that area is “not consistent with the known Key deer habitat, specifically Big Pine Key, No Name Key and patches of other areas in the Lower Keys.”

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The Key deer is the smallest subspecies of white-tailed deer.

For more information on Key deer, visit www.myfwc.com.

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