Deer wandered around with arrows lodged in them before dying, Oregon officials say
Two deer were seen wandering an Oregon city with arrows lodged in them before dying, wildlife officials said.
Now, the reward for information on the person or people responsible for the illegal killings has been raised to $2,000, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a Dec. 17 news release.
The deer were likely shot sometime on Oct. 25 and Nov. 18 in Corvallis, officials said.
One deer had an “arrow lodged in its neck” and the other had one stuck near its spine, officials said.
“The acts represent a multitude of violations including using a crossbow to kill big game animals and shooting in city limits,” officials said in the release.
Crossbow hunting is illegal in Oregon, and its use has been deemed controversial.
The crossbow is easier to use and may give a hunter an advantage because of its silence and “effective range,” officials said.
Hunters can legally use a hand-drawn recurve, long or compound bows that do not have a mechanical device.
The use of a crossbow has frustrated traditional archers, according to Riley Savage, who is the president of Traditional Archers of Oregon.
“The operator does not need the same skills required to use a handheld, vertical bow, like getting close and knowing when to draw and when to shoot,” Savage said in the release. “They (crossbow user) are an assassin, lying in wait, at long distance, with no detectable movement visible to their prey.”
The animals were found dead near Northwest Walnut and Northwest Witham Hill Drive.
Anyone who has information “leading to an arrest or citation” will be rewarded $2,000, officials said.
Tips can be made anonymously.
The Oregon State Police’s Albany Fish and Wildlife office can be reached at 800-442-2068. The case number is #SP24-383408.
The initial reward was $1,000 until the Mid-Willamette Chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association donated $500. The Traditional Archers of Oregon added another $500.
Corvallis is about a 35-mile drive south from Salem.
