Oregon State Police have arrested a man after seeing a video on social media where he was riding a buck mule deer.
Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Troopers received a tip about a video shared via social media. It showed what appeared to be a man climbing onto, and eventually riding on the back of a live and exhausted mule deer buck while it was contained within a fenced enclosure.
Throughout the video, the mule deer buck can be heard grunting and bleating. After escaping the rider, the buck jumped into a linked fence, multiple times, attempting to escape the enclosure.
After reviewing the video, OSP Fish & Wildlife Troopers conducted further investigation and identified two suspects from Riley, near Burns in Eastern Oregon.
18-year-old Jacob Belcher was identified as the rider.
The investigation and interviews revealed that the buck mule deer had entrapped itself within a fenced feeding enclosure, before being ridden by Belcher. The buck was eventually freed.
Following interviews, Belcher was arrested and lodged at the Harney County Jail on charges of Wildlife Harassment and Animal Abuse II. Another suspect, who was responsible for recording the incident, was identified and interviewed as well. Charges of Aiding in a Wildlife Offense will be referred to the Harney County District Attorney’s Office.