Minnesota motorist's erratic driving blamed on a deer, not a beer

A sheriff's deputy north of the Twin Cities pulled over a driver suspected of being drunk, but it turned out the motorist was influenced by a deer, not a beer.

The pickup truck was stopped because the driver "erratically swerved for no apparent reason," read a Facebook posting Thursday night from the Chisago County Sheriff's Office.

"Nope, definitely not intoxicated," the posting continued, "just their pet fawn misbehaving/jumping around."

As the fawn kept its big brown eyes fixed on the deputy, the Sheriff's Office reported that the driver agreed to move the fawn to its crate.

In a follow-up comment, the Sheriff's Office wrote that the fawn "even had a collar. Everything checked out."

Sheriff's Capt. Derek Anklan said the man driving the pickup truck was from Wisconsin and "on the way to the vet for the deer" when he was pulled over about 7:45 p.m. Thursday in Chisago City at County Road 9 and 310th Street.

Yes, Minnesotans can keep deer as pets, a state official said. And so can Wisconsinites.

As of November 2022, Minnesota and Wisconsin and 15 other states allow deer as pets, according to the World Population Review, but Alabama and Arkansas say deer had to be captured by hand before July 2012.

Erin Crider, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, said Friday that owners of pet deer "need to meet all the same requirements as any other herd owner, including registration, official ID, inspections, records and [chronic wasting disease] testing."