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Santa Rosa Livestock Agent Charged With Shooting, Killing Donkey
April 19, 2022
A contracted Santa Rosa County livestock agent has been charged after allegedly shooting and killing a donkey.
Philip Alan Hayes, 54, was charged with inhumane slaughter of livestock and felony and torture and inflicting pain and serious injury or death.
Last week, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint about a donkey roaming unattended on Deaton Bridge Road. The deputies were unsuccessful in corralling the donkey. Hayes arrived and told deputies that he did not need their assistance.
Hayes allegedly used his truck to push the donkey to push the donkey about one-half a mile and down a long driveway. He showed a neighbor a rifle and said that if he could not corral the animal, “I’ve got something for it,” according to an arrest report.
Another witness told deputies that Hayes was able to feed the donkey by hand, and he refused to use a rope and halter presented to him. The witness told deputies that he shot the donkey twice.
Hayes turned himself in and was released on an $8,500 bond.
Livestock agents are contracted by the Sheriff’s Office to corral, board and find the owner of loose and at-large livestock.
Comments
19 Responses to “Santa Rosa Livestock Agent Charged With Shooting, Killing Donkey”
There was no sense in him shooting that poor donkey. The sad part is him giving a bad name to his family and they sure don’t deserve it.
@ William in Beulah.( “Just how does a Donkey toss a calf? I call BS!!!” ) A calf only weighs about 70-80 lbs at birth so yes a donkey certainly could sling a young calf. Donkey’s can provide good protection for livestock but not all donkeys are good, especially intact males. The wrong donkey can be a huge issue with livestock.
Now, with that said, if the guy showed up with no halter, no lead, no trailer, then he had no intention of trying to do his job. He needs to spend some time in the jail for intentional animal cruelty resulting in suffering and unnecessary death of animal. He’s not a good person. Good folks don’t do that.
Just how does a Donkey toss a calf? I call BS!!! Donkeys are notorious for keeping fox, coyote and other small predators away, as well as being very vocal towards intruders, but there’s no way for a donkey to “toss” a calf.
@ Rasheed Jackson
He only shot the animal because he could not perform the job he was paid to do.
No matter how many times the animal got out, it dont deserve to be shot by a so called human
Too bad the LEO could not come out and cover the retrieval of the animal.
This would not have happened
But…thats paperwork to LEO.
LEO didnt do their job either.
Did this person partake of alcohol before he was called?
A normal person would not have done this to any animal…even after it was hand fed.
Too many witnesses , none of them were armed , nor needed to be.
The donkey was the victim , not this maniac…
Your mentality in nature of the perpetrator being the donkey is in seriously in question.
I could be wrong, the donkey was probably suicidal and the inhuman went to give him a gun,,,
Come on man….too many law abiding citizens called to get help with the donkey, they cared enough for that.
A side note, dont judge all donkeys you witnessed or head about in the past.
Judgement of one animal does not make them all the same.
Just like people, we all are different…
I dont think the inhuman killed the donkey because the were calves near it.
The story is at the proper legal facility if you want to know that bad ask for a copy fella.
Sounds to me that Santa Rosa county needs to get a another Livestock Agent with some patience to work with animals instead of a person that makes the decision to take the animals life for no reason! He went to the location without anything to corral the donkey except a truck and a rifle and refused help from Law Enforcement and concerned neighbors.
The REAL jackass needs to be in jail! That poor donkey didn’t deserve that. Thank you @Sherry for all you did.
Sounds like a real big man… running down a donkey with a truck. Pathetic as they come.
The owner needs to be responsible for a Donkey roaming loose.
I will always love you DONKEEYY!
So he brought a rifle but no trailer, halter, lead rope or any other equipment? Its plain to see that he had decided to kill the animal before he left his house. Hope the owner goes after him in civil court after he deals with his criminal charges.
I would like to hear the rest of the story. It has been my experience; Donkeys can be mean. I have a neighbor who used donkeys to patrol his pasture. He found several dead calves before catching his donkeys in the act of killing one. They were playing toss the calf. Donkeys are mean and can be very territorial and aggressive, which is why people place them in their fields with livestock, but there are times they get a little over aggressive and kill the livestock.
Before a pass judgement on this individual, I have a few questions. Was this the first time the animal got out? Was there a history of this donkey breaking loose and running the neighborhood? Did it show any aggression when approached? An aggressive donkey running loose in a neighbor is a serious problem.
My property after offering him assistance and items he should have brought with him if he ever intended on catching him. Why would you go to catch a donkey without a halter and lead rope and a trailer to haul him in???? That makes absolutely NO SENSE! GOOD JOB PROPERTY OWNER FOR ACTING ON THIS EXTREMELY CRUEL ACT BY SOMEONE WHO WAS TRUSTED TO HANDLE THE DONKEY WITH PROFESSIONALISM AND INSTEAD JUST OBVIOUSLY DID NOT WANT TO DO HIS JOB AND WASNT PREPARED TO DO ANYTHING BUT WHAT HE DID ! I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW HOW HE REMOVED THE DONKEY AFTER HE SHOT HIM ??? HE CERTAINLY COULDN’T HAVE PICKED HIM UP BY HIMSELF AND WHERE DID HE TAKE HIM AND HOW DID HE GET HIM THEIR WITHOUT A TRAILER??
I personally know this donkey was very sweet and had absolutely “NO AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR” HE WAS A BEAUTIFUL ALBINO DONKEY AND DID NOT DESERVE THIS KIND OF TREATMENT! SO SAD SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN AROUND LIVESTOCK HIS WHOLE LIFE COULDN’T HANDLE CATCHING HIM!!! JUST PATHETIC EXTREMELY CRUEL AND UNNECESSARY!!! AND.TO THINK HE IS CONTRACTED FOR THIS JOB IS SO SAD!
AND IS I WAS THE PROPERTY OWNER I WOULD BE FURUOUS AS WELL THAT HE WAS SHOT ON MY PROPERTY WHRN
I have nothing but disgust for this person for his action. If he could NOT handle the job, he should have called Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Dept. He should not be allowed to be around animals ever and face harsh penalties for his action.
Watching to much Yellowstone
As the owner of a rescue donkey, this was totally uncalled for. I would have taken another donkey, to have saved its life. I have had my rescue for about 13 years, and you couldn’t ask for a more appreciative animal. This man needs to be dismissed from this position.
What a jerk!
I wasn’t there. But if this guy’s behavior doesn’t comport with his county job description, he ought to be told to find another job as a minimum. I have been around cattle and donkeys before. Most can be corralled with a bucket of feed and a halter. I have a hard time trying to think of a situation where deadly force is required because to my knowledge there are no feral donkeys in Northwest Florida. The donkeys I have seen are generally sweet animals. If the livestock gets antsy with you, get back in your truck or on the opposite side of a fence. I hope this guy gets a fair hearing to explain what he did. But I think it’s going to be a hard sell.
I was horrified when I read about this last week. it’s frustrating if you try but can’t corral a loose animal – but killing a harmless creature out of anger??? ? That pretty donkey was no threat to anyone. the Sheriff‘s Office needs to instruct their live stock handlers to use tranquilizer guns in these cases instead of lethal force