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The BC Conservation Officer Service and the Capital Regional District are looking to speak with the owners of the dogs that attacked a deer at the Bear Mountain golf on Oct. 4.
Tannis Fillion was walking on the gravel road beside the driving range with her dog when she saw four other dogs attacking a deer.
Fillion took a video of the incident and later posted the video to Facebook.
“The owners were nowhere in sight so I was screaming to see if anyone was up the mountain. When they finally got their dogs on leashes the poor deer was panicking/panting and lied down injured in the sandpit, not moving,” Fillion wrote on Facebook. She also said it took several minutes for the owners to get to the dogs.
Fillion said the RCMP were called and she spoke the Bear Mountain golf course staff. According to Fillion, the deer suffered a broken leg. It can be heard crying out in pain in the video.
“I felt so in shock/sick/helpless as there was nothing I could do without putting me and my puppy in danger as no one else was around. It was absolutely awful and emotional to watch,” Fillion wrote.
BC Conservation officer Scott Norris confirmed RCMP did euthanize the deer. Both the BC Conservation Officer Service and the Capital Regional District (CRD) Bylaw Enforcement say they want to speak to the owners to get all the details about the incident. Fillion did say a man seen with the dogs was the one who contacted the police but a woman who was also seen with the dogs left with the pets before police arrived.
Fillion also wrote one of the four dogs attacked her puppy.
Bylaw and BC Wildlife Act charges could be considered.
Norris said the incident is a good reminder that under the Wildlife Act, it is an offence to let a dog hunt or pursue wildlife or an endangered species or threatened species, or game, except in accordance with the regulations.
He added it’s important to keep dogs on leashes as if they pursue an animal like a cougar, it would put the owner in danger as well.
Anyone who knows who the owners are or has more information about the incident is asked to call the BC Conservation Officer Service RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277 or CRD bylaw enforcement at 250-474-3351.
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