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Deer Love Grazing at FBI Shooting Range

Hunting regulations make Quantico safe for animals

By Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 26, 2011 6:41 PM CST

(Newser) – The busy FBI training ground in Quantico, Virginia, is a bit of a zoo—including foxes, turkeys, groundhogs, and free-roaming black bears. Most noticeable of all are the deer, which graze safely around the 547-acre academy despite the crackle of more than 1 million marksman bullets every month. "They're pretty immune to the sound," says a special agent who sees deer graze about 15 feet from targets. "They're just so docile around here. They don't know what a gun is."

The state permits some hunting on the Marine Corps base that houses the academy, but hunters aren't allowed on FBI turf—making it very safe for deer, the AP reports. Recruits learn to avoid them on driving courses, and often find themselves under surveillance during grueling physical training exercises: The deer "just stand there and watch as if they're evaluating them," says the chief physical trainer, "just like the instructors are."

A deer runs towards the wooded area near a shooting range inside the FBI Academy training facility in Quantico, Va., Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Deer roam on the roadside at FBI Academy's driving range, a facility they use to train FBI drivers in Quantico, Va., Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Deer roam atop a berm in a shooting range at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Deer roam atop a berm surrounding the shooting range at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Deer Love Grazing at FBI Shooting Range

Hunting regulations make Quantico safe for animals

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