Conservation officers will attempt to remove an arrow from the head of a deer in Maple Bay.
Resident Heather Bertrand, who lives in the Stoney Hill area, said she spotted the deer near her yard on the afternoon of June 6.
She said the arrow appears to have entered the deer’s head just below the jaw and is embedded with the front part sticking out of the back in the head.
Bertrand said she’s familiar with the deer as she and her family have spotted it near their residence many times.
“There’s no blood and the deer seems to fine,” Bertrand said.
“But we noticed that the deer has a newly born fawn with it. We’ve been here a long time and we’ve never seen anything like this happen before. We know none of our neighbours have done this so it must have been someone coming from outside the area.”
Bertrand called conservation officers to assist and officer Scott Norris said a team was being sent to assess the situation on Wednesday (June 7).
Norris said the plan is to drug the deer and try to remove the arrow while the animal is anesthetized.
“If we can successfully remove the arrow, we’ll use a reversal drug that will wake the deer up quickly,” Norris said.
“She has a fawn, but it’s a fact that mother deer often leave their fawns for as long as a whole day to feed so we’re not anticipating a problem there.”
Norris said if the deer has to be euthanized, the fawn will be taken to the SPCA’s wild animal rehabilitation centre.
He said he’s only been called once before to a similar situation around five years ago when a deer in Nanaimo was also shot in the head with an arrow.
“We were successful in removing the arrow there and the deer survived, but we’ve yet to assess the condition of this deer,” Norris said.
“This is an illegal act and we’re asking the public to give us any tips they may have. It’s not hunting season for deer and, from the photos, there appears to be no hunting tip on the arrow. Penalties can be in the thousands of dollars if charges are laid.”
Anyone with any information on this incident, or any other incidents involving wildlife, can call 1-877-952-7277.