Two men charged with hog-tying endangered Key deer

A broken taillight led to the discovery of three endangered deer, found hog-tied and smuggled in a car early Sunday in Monroe County.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy pulled over a car early Sunday for a broken taillight. FWC became involved when the deputy found two Key deer tied up with twine, and a third stuffed in the trunk.

Officials untied and checked the deer before two ran off into the wild. The last deer is being evaluated further, according to FWC.

Key deer are a smaller species of deer that had recently been affected by a screwworm outbreak, which killed 135 deer over two months. Less than 1,000 remain in the wild.

Erik Yosmany Damas Acosta, 18, of Miami Gardens and 23-year-old Tumani Anthony Younge, of Tamarac, were booked at the Monroe County jail Sunday for three felony and 12 misdemeanor charges each, according to the sheriff’s office. Charges include animal cruelty and illegal taking of deer out of season.

This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Two men charged with hog-tying endangered Key deer."