Antelope never used to be picked up? (3)
I believe the answer is:
gnu
'antelope' is the definition.
(gnu is a kind of antelope)
'never used to be picked up?' is the wordplay.
'never used' becomes 'new' (new can mean unused).
'to be picked up?' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue (I've seen 'to be picked up' mean this).
'new' is a homophone of 'GNU'.
(Other definitions for gnu that I've seen before include "Strange gun for an antelope" , "animals" , "Wildebeest" , "Antelope sounds as if it has knowledge" , "Gun for a kind of deer" .)