Paul McDonald: Rare deer goring death prompts safety recommendations

The tragic goring death of a man by a pet deer during mating season has prompted calls for change.

Councils are being urged to introduce compulsory registrations for pet deer after a man was gored to death by a buck during mating season.

A rare case in Australia, Paul McDonald, 46, was tragically killed by his family’s pet when he entered its enclosure on April 17, 2019.

In the days before the attack, his wife, Mandi, had refused to enter the enclosure after noticing behavioural changes associated with mating season.

The Moyhu family was living on a semirural property just south of Wangaratta and had raised the deer from a fawn.

The Californian Wapiti-breed deer had become tangled in fencing, leading Mr McDonald to enter the enclosure to free the pet when it attacked.

Mandi and Paul McDonald – victims of a 2019 deer attack in Moyhu.

Ms McDonald and their young son ran outside when they heard yelling, discovering Mr McDonald pinned to the ground with puncture wounds to areas including his head, neck and chest.

They frantically threw stones and used timber to separate the deer from the injured man, before Ms McDonald attempted to retrieve her husband from the enclosure.

She was then attacked by the deer.

In front of their son, the couple exchanged heartbreaking goodbyes after realising one or both of them may not survive.

Their neighbour, an off-duty ambulance officer, came over after hearing “screams and commotion” and shot the deer three times with a shotgun.

He was able to drag the injured couple from the enclosure, before realising Mr McDonald had died from his injuries.

Ms McDonald was flown to Melbourne for significant medical attention but survived.

The incident was investigated by Coroner John Olle in June, who made three recommendations to hopefully prevent a similar incident occurring.

He found deaths by deer were rare, with only two other recorded incidents in Australia, although over the last decade 22 people had been injured by deer in Victoria.

“Even when bred in captivity, deer do not make good pets,” Mr Olle wrote in his findings.

“While deer can be tamed, and appear small and manageable at first, they become increasingly unmanageable as they mature.”

A review by the coroner’s prevention unit noted male deer should have their antlers removed annually before mating season, when an increase in testosterone changes their antlers into “hardened sexual weapons”.

In Australia, mating season or the ‘rut’ typically commences in late March and runs for four to five weeks.

Mr Olle recommended Agriculture Victoria circulate a safety warning to remind owners of the best practice for deer to be de-antlered and regional vets should display safety information.

He also urged local councils in regional and rural communities to consider compulsory registration of pet deer.