“To the citizens of Wisconsin”, it reads, “please remove any concrete deer ornaments from your lawn by November 1, 2015”.
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You can keep your ornamental deer in the yard.
“Obviously, it’s a hoax”, said Jim Dick, spokesman for the DNR.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Paul A. Smith first saw the fake letter on social media sometime last week.
The announcement, which the agency titled “DISPELLING A HOAX” (their caps, not ours), comes after the circulation of a rather official-looking letter telling residents their fake lawn deer were getting confused for real ones.
The letter, employing the official DNR masthead, claims that the concrete deer have possibly interfered with past Wisconsin deer counts and so removal would ensure that they do not in the future. The DNR posted a picture of the false letter with a caption discrediting it and reassuring Wisconsin residents that they may still decorate their lawns with any concrete fauna they desire. He said a similar hoax was spread a few years ago.
It also used its Facebook page to set the record straight.
It is unclear how many people were fooled by the letter, but most of those responding on the DNR’s Facebook page made light of the situation.
Another quipped: “Too amusing!!”
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The agency says it’s not asking people to remove any lawn decorations.
