A hunter turned himself in after he accidentally shot a rare protected white deer.

The incident happened at Pepin County, Wisconsin during the nine-day gun season which allows hunters to kill deer. The huntsman shot the animal with his rifle after he noticed its partially brown head through the foliage. He realised his mistake after he approached his kill and saw its all-white coat.

Regulations from the Department of Natural Resources state that white animals are not legally allowed to be hunted and have a protected status.

"So if it's an all-white deer not including the head, the hooves or the tarsal glands, then it's a protected animal," said Richard Rosen, a conservation warden with the Wisconsin DNR.

The buck was then confiscated by hunting authorities who brought the meat to a local grocery store to be processed. They said the hunter was happy for his kill to be used to raise awareness about the issue.

"What he preferred was to make sure others could learn from this, that we could keep that animal within the community and use it as a learning experience," said Rosen to KARE11.

Meanwhile, in Sweden there was a happy ending after authorities decided not to kill a white elk that charged at a woman and her dogs. The animal, which became internationally famous after footage of it went viral, had been deemed a potential threat

However, a protest by locals and animal rights groups saved the animal after authorities decided against culling the rare beast.