Dead deer found at Santa's Land theme park in Vermont; owner accused of animal cruelty

PUTNEY, Vt. – Police reported they found more than a dozen dead fallow dead at the holiday-themed Santa's Land in southern Vermont and the owner of the park and a caretaker have been accused of animal cruelty.

Officers with the Windham County Sheriff's Department said Monday that 24-year-old caretaker Brian Deistler and 55-year-old owner Lillian Billewicz were charged with cruelty to animals.

Sheriff Keith Clark said 16 deer carcasses, as well as a dead pot-bellied pig and pheasant, were found at the park over the weekend.

Billewicz wrote on the business' Facebook page that park staff contacted a veterinarian soon after the death of the first animal and all appropriate lab work was done to rule out disease.