Conservationists have taken to Facebook to ask the public’s help in finding a deer with an arrow in its side. The deer was seen in the Ojibway Nature Reserve on the west side of Windsor, where hunting is illegal.
The deer, a buck, had an arrow with red and white vanes protruding from its body, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is trying to determine the origin of that arrow — and of the deer. “We’re looking into it and also asking the public’s help in locating the deer and any information that would help investigators determine … how the deer was shot with the arrow and then not retrieved,” Ministry spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski told the CBC.
Some have speculated that the deer may have been shot outside of city limits, where hunting is legal, then wandered onto the reserve. However, the Ministry’s post says that this “seems unlikely.”
The post continues: “I hope that the person who did this reads this post and realizes that they mortally wounded a healthy young deer for nothing, and reconsider their actions next time.”
Kowalski also said that hunters need to ensure they’re taking good shots so that animals aren’t left alive but wounded. “When you shoot an animal you’re supposed to kill it if you’re retrieving it for hunting purposes,” she said. “We don’t know the circumstances of this, but obviously if this is a hunting situation we would encourage hunters to know what they’re shooting at and to take a good shot so we don’t have injured animals moving around.”
The Ministry noted in its post that “this kind of act shouldn’t be confused with or lumped in with ethical and legal hunting, which when done responsibly can be beneficial in many ways, including as a useful management tool.”
The Ministry is asking anyone with information about this incident or about poaching activities in general to call their tip line at 1-877-847-7667.