A recent TikTok video has gone viral, garnering over 7.4 million views as it shows a father and his young son verbally abusing a hunter in Long Island, New York. The video shows the man driving on the road before being approached by a father and son who scream and cry about why he hunts deer.
The video starts with the father demanding to know “why you want to kill deer” and aggressively approaching the male driver, Dominick Lobifaro. As the confused hunter explained, he hunts deer because he eats deer. The accuser’s son also gets involved, demanding to know “what did the f*cking deer do to you?”
The video was from Lobifaro’s recording. It continues with the hunter asking the man and his son if they buy meat at the store and explaining that by hunting deer in the wild he’s being far more ethical than meat purchased in a grocery store and often sourced from unsanitary and cruel conditions for the animals. The man’s daughter, who was also present, bursts into tears and bikes away, as the man and his son continue grilling the driver and asking him how he’d feel if the deer was his pet, which the hunter finds to be a bizarre statement.
Lobifaro explained to the young boy that he’s not doing something “bad” and he’s not hunting for sport but will actually eat the deer. The father and son admit they eat meat but appear to have a problem with hunting itself rather than the consumption of meat. It is unclear where they believe meat comes from.
The father and son screamed for Lobifaro to “leave!” and shouted “f*ck you!” as he tried to defend himself. The man who verbally assaulted Lobifaro then called the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to try to get Lobifaro in trouble and stop him from going hunting on Long Island. This tactic didn’t work. In fact, the DEC officer said Lobifaro was fully in compliance with the law, had all necessary permits, and hadn’t hunted anywhere illegal.
