SALEM, Ore. - Oregon's attorney general announced Friday he will appeal the Clackamas County Circuit Court decision to return a deer raised in captivity to the people who raised it.

The move marks the start of another chapter in the saga of Snowball the domesticated deer.

In a press release issued Friday, Hardy Myers said that the "logic of the court's ruling is that police would be compelled to return stolen property and other property to people who are not entitled by law to possess it. The impact of the ruling potentially extends beyond this wildlife case."

A Clackamas County Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday that the doe with physical defects named "Snowball" was to be returned to the family that rescued and raised it in captivity. The couple's lawyer petitioned that since there were no charges in the case, the deer should be returned to them. The judge agreed.

Another deer the family raised, Bucky, was returned to the wild. Bucky is the son of Snowball, and did not suffer from the same defects as his mother.

"The ruling makes it more difficult to protect fish and wildlife against unlawful taking," Oregon State Police Capt. Walt Markee is quoted as saying in the press release.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Division Administrator Ron Anglin added that the ruling "opens the door to people removing wildlife from the wild."