Florida man charged with animal torture after hitting deer with car for TikTok

27-year-old Clay Kinney has been charged with five counts of animal torment and one count of animal torture after deliberately hitting a deer with his car for a TikTok video.

A 27-year-old Florida resident named Clay Kinney has been hit with a bevy of charges after uploading a grisly video to TikTok.

In the video, Kinney attempted to run over five deer, but only struck one, fatally injuring the animal.

According to reports from local news outlet Fox 35, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Kinney after becoming aware of the video.

Unsplash.com: Robert Woeger

Florida man arrested for hitting deer with car for TikTok video

A detective with the Sheriff’s Office saw Kinney in the Geneva area and pulled him over for a traffic stop, where he learned that Kinney’s license was suspended.

The detective then asked Kinney about the video — and he admitted to running over the deer with his Blue Chevy Tahoe and filming the act for TikTok.

As a result, Kinney was arrested and charged with one count of animal torture, five counts of animal torment, and one count of a moving traffic violation, as per an affidavit obtained by Fox 35.

Seminole County Sheriff’s Office / Fox 35

This isn’t the first time Kinney has gotten on the wrong side of the law due to deer-related incidents, either.

In 2021, Kinney was arrested for “possessing a baby fawn during the closed hunting season,” after law enforcement responded to a crash at Geneva’s Snow Hill Road. The officer reportedly witnessed Kinney set loose a fawn he had in a dog crate in his vehicle, as per arrest records.

Kinney later admitted to parking on the side of the road to retrieve the fawn when he’d been rear-ended. According to Kinney, he’d wanted to take the fawn home and release it on his property. He ended up getting released on bond.