Ministry asks for help tracking deer spotted with arrow in its side
The arrow had red and white vanes according to a post on Facebook
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is asking the public for help finding a young buck spotted with an arrow sticking out of its side.
A photo of the deer was shared in a post on the Windsor Essex Nature Sightings Facebook page, which claims the animal was seen in the Ojibway Nature Reserve Tuesday.
"The arrow had red and white vanes," reads the post. "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."
MNRF spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski said the ministry has received reports of the wounded deer and is asking the people for help tracking it, even though it might be a "moving target."
"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," she explained.
Karen Cedar, who works as a naturalist at the nearby Ojibway Nature Centre, said officials aren't sure where the deer came from. It's possible it was hurt by a hunter in the county and travelled to the reserve after being shot, but hunting is outlawed within Windsor's city limits.
"When you shoot an animal you're supposed to kill it if you're retrieving it for hunting purposes," Kowalski added. "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."