Conservation officers hope a buck shot with an arrow will make a full recovery after they located the injured animal and removed the weapon.
The deer was spotted last Thursday (Dec. 17) wandering from Uplands Golf Course to a residential area that borders the course. Ron Dempsey noticed an arrow lodged in the animal’s left side, near its front leg, and what looked like dried blood around the entry wound. He reported the wounded animal to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.
Conservation officer Scott Norris said they received another four or five calls reporting sightings of the animal near the golf course. On Tuesday, a conservation officer knocked on doors in the area, one of which was opened by a retired wildlife biologist who had seen the buck and thought he knew where the animal would be, Norris said.
The biologist helped conservation officers find the buck near the golf course. They tranquilized it and removed the arrow from its side.
The helpful biologist offered to keep an eye on the animal and let conservation officers know how it’s doing, Norris said.
“Let’s hope it makes it. It was a pretty nasty wound, but there’s a good chance he’ll make it,” he said.
The animal was shot with a sharp arrow intended to kill, rather than a blunt-headed one used for target practice, likely by someone who wanted to take the antlers, Norris said. “Someone did this purposefully and illegally.”
Hunting season for deer in the area ended Dec. 10, and it’s illegal to hunt within residential areas of Greater Victoria. Most of the deer that have been found shot with arrows in Greater Victoria are bucks with “a nice set of antlers on them,” Norris said.
Anyone with information about who may have shot the animal is asked call the Report All Poachers and Polluters tip line at 1-877-952-7277.
