A deer had to be put to sleep after being attacked by a runaway dog in Kinross.
Witnesses watched in horror as a large brown dog pursued the wild animal in the centre of the Perthshire town.
At least two men tried to separate the pair near Millbridge Hall, at the back of Causeway Court.
One of the males was reportedly attacked by the dog but emerged uninjured.
Eventually the dog ran away.
No owner was present.
The SSPCA arrived around 90 minutes later and euthanised the deer after being unable to save their life.
The incident took place at around 4pm on Tuesday.
Deer euthanised after Kinross dog attack
An onlooker told The Courier: “The deer was trying to escape the dog for a while but couldn’t because of the sheer size of it.
“The deer could only get away with the help of two grown men – and even that was a struggle.
“It was a savage attack and one of the men was near-attacked for trying to get the dog off the deer.
“It was a big dog to be out on its own.
“There was blood everywhere so it would have been attacking and chasing the deer for some time before the two men came along.”
An SSPCA spokesperson said: “We received a call on Tuesday 18 November from a member of the public about a deer who had been attacked by a dog at Millbridge, Kinross.
“Sadly, due to the severity of the deer’s injuries, it had to be euthanised.”
The incident comes less than a month after an attack by a bull-type breed dog left one dog dead and its elderly owner injured.
A separate attack by the same animals took place a few minutes’ walk away on Kinross High Street..
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