Hollywood Buck’s tragic end was cowardly and immoral

The Richmond SPCA shares our community’s sadness and outrage at the poaching of the deer many in our community admired and knew as the “Hollywood Buck.” We may have never known the animal’s fate had the person authorities suspect of taking the buck’s life not submitted photos posing with the deer to Star City Whitetails, a Facebook group with more than 72,000 followers. This person’s bragging ultimately led to an investigation by the Department of Wildlife Resources.  

The response on social media was swift and compelling — within an hour of the buck’s photos appearing on Facebook, dozens of people rebutted the poacher’s claim to have shot the deer in Prince Edward County. These wildlife enthusiasts identified the deer as the Hollywood Buck, who was known to have lived within the James River Park System, enjoying life around Hollywood Cemetery, Maymont Park and along the James River Park North Trail. For more reporting on this case, visit wtvr.com. 

We are grateful to the community for its diligence in alerting authorities to this cruel and criminal killing and to DWR for quickly and thoroughly performing an investigation. People can only be held accountable for the mistreatment of animals when those with information have the courage to speak up and alert the appropriate authorities.  

There is no “sportsmanship” in killing an animal who lived his life in a park, habituated to people. The Hollywood Buck was a known part of the local wildlife landscape. He was accustomed to encountering humans, desensitized to the noise of our traffic and the footsteps of those who enjoy our beautiful parks and historic cemeteries. Killing the Hollywood Buck and treating him as a trophy was cowardly and immoral. The person responsible must be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  

Local photographer Bill Draper has beautifully documented the life of the Hollywood Buck and other urban wildlife in Richmond. See more of his work here.