A deer hunter was confronted by an emotional father and son after they saw him preparing to kill one of the animals.
In footage of the incident, filmed by the hunter, the latter can be heard dismissing the pair before telling the sobbing boy that death is simply ‘a part of life’.
It all kicked off last Sunday (October 20), when 30-year-old Dominick Lobifaro was told to leave a wooded section of state-owned land close to the father and son’s home while scoping out the area.
You can watch the heated encounter below:
After demanding the hunter leave the area, the father of the young boy, from Oakdale, Long Island, called 911 while Lobifaro called the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police.
However, before anyone could arrive the dad approached the hunter’s car with his son and other children, with Lobifaro claiming the man told the children he was going to kill all of the deer. ‘I hadn’t even hunted yet when they all came over,’ the hunter said.
As they reached his car door, the video shows the unidentified man asking why the hunter wanted to kill deer, to which Lobifaro responded: ‘because I eat them’.
The young boy then addressed the hunter, from Brooklyn, demanding to know ‘what the f*cking deer [did] to you,’ before the hunter warned the pair he was recording the argument – which by this point was in full view of a crowd of other children.
Lobifaro claimed the unidentified man had got all of the children involved, telling the New York Post he’d announced the hunter was here to ‘kill all the deer’ – causing one of them to start crying.
The hunter then apologised for making the boy cry, but told his father: ‘you need to explain to them that it’s part of life’. He went onto explain how he ‘[wasn’t] trying to do anything bad’, after the child asked if Lobifaro would like to see one of his own pets killed.
His father then accused the hunter of having an ‘issue’ while asking him to leave the area, at which the young boy said: ‘Leave! Now! You’re an asshole! F*ck you!’.
Ultimately, the stand-off ended when an officer from the state Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the hunter was there ‘100 per cent legally’ with all his necessary permits.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).