Deer keepers on Richley Road unhappy with drive-by shooters

Kris Clark and his father-in-law Andy Job have a simple request of people coming past their home in Darien: "Please don't shoot our deer."

Job has been raising deer on his Richley Road property for 15 years, and on at least two occasions, his deer have been shot and killed by passersby.

On Saturday, somebody in a sedan with a loud muffler pulled up to the fence line and fired a shot.

No deer were hit, but Clark, who lives at the house with his wife and two young children, was sitting with his family in the Florida room, which offers little protection from a ricocheting bullet.

"I don't want our deer shot, but that's not my biggest concern," Clark said. "The deer fenced area is close to the road and my house is also within close range. With that in mind, my children were home and I am lucky that no one was hurt or killed."

Job started keeping deer 15 years ago, buying two pregnant does. He now has 10, but he's kept as many as 18.

Several years ago, somebody shot eight deer on his property and just left them dead behind the fence. Then two years ago, somebody fired a .22 caliber bullet at his 10-point buck.

The buck was wounded, but wouldn't let Job get near it so he could care for its wound. The buck died two weeks later of an infection.

Big bucks, Job said, are worthy anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000. At the time, he had recently turned down an offer of $12,000 for the buck.

He didn't sell only because of DEC regulations that would have made a sale difficult and expensive.

But the deer are more than livestock to Job. They're also his pets. Clark said his father-in-law was upset when his buck died for reasons that had nothing to do with money.

When something like Saturday's gun shot happen, Clark said, the deer are spooked for days afterwards, making them less social and a little harder to get out of the back wooded area of the wooded area at feeding time.

The Sheriff's Office took a report on the shooting incident Saturday, but there isn't much to go on. It was dark and neither Clark nor a neighbor who also heard the shot got a good look at the car.

Still, Clark said, he's hoping somebody might know something and the Sheriff's Office can make an arrest in the case. Tips can be called into 345-3000.

Job said he welcomes people driving down Richley Road and stopping to look at his deer when they're near the front fence line. As long as they're just looking, Job said, that's fine.

Along with the deer, Job keeps geese, turkeys, an emu and chickens. More pictures from his place after the jump.