'We live and work in difficult conditions. Each deer is important for us.' Picture: Pavel Kosenko

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

Police investigators are probing the horrific shooting of reindeer from Bulunsky farm, in Kyusyur village, after the traditional races. Prosecutors fear the deer were gunned down in revenge after Kyusyur village took the main prizes at the annual competition in the far north of the Sakha Republic - also known as Yakutia.

The caribou were 'deliberately targeted' with a 7.62 mm rifle as their herders celebrated victory, it is claimed. Macabre pictures show the slaughtered reindeer lying in the snow at the crime scene some 1,071 kilometres north of regional capital Yakutsk.

'Judging by the wounds, they were shot with a high-calibre gun,' said one owner, interviewed by local journalist Kharyskhan Popov. 'In total, we brought 80 deer to the meeting. We have lost 30 of them. This crime is beyond understanding. Nobody ever kills livestock in this way.

Macabre pictures show the slaughtered reindeer lying in the snow at the crime scene some 1,071 kilometres north of regional capital Yakutsk. Pictures: Kharyskhan Popov/YSIA

'We live and work in difficult conditions. Each deer is important for us. We could never imagine anyone can do this. These were our best animals, our pride. We have been training them for several years. We were so happy about the victory. And suddenly we have lost them all.'

Locals say that these deer could not have been mistaken for wild animals, and nor were they shot for meat. The dead reindeers were left at the scene. The prosecutor's office of Balun district indicated the number of slain reindeer as being 20.

A police source told journalists that the herders were celebrating their win and the deer were unsupervised at night when the shooting took place. 'The people were in tents behind the hill, and although the deer were rather close to the owners, they were not under the supervision,' said the source.

'The meeting was held from 2 to 3 April, and the deer had come to Tiksi at the end of March. Picture: The Siberian Times

A 7.62 mm rifle was used to slay the reindeer. A source in the local prosecutor's office said: 'A decision is being made on opening a criminal case. This happened at night, a few days after a (local) holiday.

'The meeting was held from 2 to 3 April, and the deer had come to Tiksi at the end of March. No one tried to steal the carcasses. It is most likely that someone wanted to settle accounts after the race.' This is the 'preliminary version' examined by investigators.