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Deer suffering apparent arrow wound euthanized in Gordon Head

New fears a bowhunter could be once again stalking animals in suburban Saanich

There are fears a bowhunter could be once again stalking animals in suburban Saanich, after a deer was found injured in Gordon Head on Sunday.

An officer was called to the 1400-block of Edgemont Pl. where he found the injured animal. It had wounds indicative of being shot in the abdomen.

"At (what appears to be an entrance wound) there were four distinct lacerations, leading the officer to believe it was from an arrow tip with a star shape," said Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen., noting no arrow was found at the scene

The animal was euthanized by the officer who attended the incident.

A necropsy was not held and the animal was destroyed, which means police can’t confirm that the deer was, in fact, struck by an arrow.

"Absent anything definitive, we're going on guesswork on the part of this officer (who suspects it was an arrow wound)," Jantzen said. "But these injuries didn't look typical with other antler injuries (from rutting with another deer.)"

Last fall, nearly a dozen deer were spotted with arrow wounds or arrows sticking out of their bodies. Some of the animals had been poached for their antlers or head.

"We are being vigilant for incidents similar to those that happened last fall," Jantzen said. "There hasn't been any obvious continuation of those incidents, and we hope that's not the case."

kslavin@saanichnews.com