CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – A New Zealand man was hospitalized Friday after he accidentally injected himself with deer tranquillizer.
The man, who was not named, had to be airlifted from a deer farm on New Zealand's South Island to Christchurch Hospital after he dropped a pre-loaded syringe and it penetrated his skin as he tried to catch it.
Helicopter paramedic Mike McLintock told The Press the patient was "quite orientated and alert," but the drug can have "reasonably nasty" side effects -- including causing a reduced heart rate and difficulties in the central nervous system.
While deer are not native to New Zealand, the nation was the first to start large-scale commercial faming of the animals.
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