For the record, hunting deer in town is illegal. And c’mon, it’s just common sense: don’t shoot anything at deer or any other wildlife inside city limits, and certainly not without a permit.
BC Conservation has put out a public plea about shooting arrows at deer after a deer was found with an arrow through its ear—at Eighth Avenue and Alderwood, on the north side of Roger Street. It’s fairly close to Glenwood Centre, and nowhere remotely close to a safe place for hunting.
Incredibly, this is the third deer that BC Conservation Officer Steve Ackles has discovered with arrow wounds, which prompted him to visit our office this week and ask us to publish his plea.
We can’t believe in this day and age that we would even have to do something like this: ask people to not shoot at animals, or even shoot arrows in an area where an animal might be hit if you miss a target. Because the next thing you know, it’s not a deer you’re hitting, it’s a human. And that will bring down a whole world of hurt—for the shooter as well as the victim.
We are fortunate in the Alberni Valley to live so close to nature, but that means we have a responsibility to respect it. We have to live in harmony with our surroundings.
This doesn’t just go for deer, it also goes for bears, which because we’ve had a mild winter are probably going to be waking up soon. People don’t like it when conservation officers shoot bears, but it’s people leaving attractants in their yards that are forcing the issue.
— ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS