NEWS

Activists petition state to save deer with arrow in face

Karen Yi
@karen_yi
Fish & Wildlife wait to tranquilize a doe who has roamed the area with an arrow lodged in her face for at least nine months. Officials hope to help the deer by cutting the arrow shaft to a shorter length. Other deer wander through the area. Marlboro, NJ Friday, August 28, 2015 @dhoodhood

MARLBORO— Activists from around the world are calling on state officials to save a doe named Grace.

For at least nine months, the deer has roamed the township with an arrow lodged in her face.

An online petition urging the state Division of Fish and Wildlife to sedate the doe and remove the arrow has amassed more than 100,000 signatures from as far away as Portugal, Germany and even Malaysia.

“If we don’t stand up for (wildlife) who is going to?” asked Poh Yee Holmes, who created the Care2 online petition though she lives in Pennsylvania. Holmes started the petition when she saw a video of the doe with her new fawn posted by an animal rights nonprofit, Showing Animals Respect and Kindness or SHARK.

Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which houses the Division of Fish and Wildlife, said the agency tried 10 times between January and May to sedate the deer and remove the arrow, coming up short each time.

Fish and Wildlife officials attempted to help the doe once again on Friday afternoon but as of 9 p.m. had been unsuccessful.

“It’s very difficult to monitor or to follow a deer and figure out her movement patterns, it’s very unpredictable,” said Hajna.

Grace, a doe, has an arrow lodged in her face.

The agency halted its efforts during fawning season, which runs from March to August, because Grace was pregnant. Attempting to tranquilize the deer in the summer is also risky; the stress could prove fatal to the animal, said Hajna.

With the weather getting cooler, rescue efforts were resuming, said Hajna.

In a video of Grace shot by SHARK, the doe, who was pierced right above her nose, can be seen with more than three-quarters of the arrow still protruding from her face. The video, posted this month, shows Grace grooming and feeding herself with her fawn right beside her.

“She can’t eat like a normal deer does, she has to twist her head to eat,” said Stuart Chaifetz, who works for SHARK. She said Grace has to be careful when she cleans herself and her fawn, or even when she walks in wooded areas. “It’s like living every day with this thing that if you make a wrong move it’ll cause you an incredible amount of pain.”

Hajna said the deer is healthy despite the injury.

“Although it looks unsightly, the deer is in good condition,” he said. Once officials dart her with tranquilizers they will most likely snip off the end of the arrow and remove it, said Hajna.

It’s not clear how or when the doe was shot but bow hunting is legal during certain times of the year.

Holmes says the petition is also meant to rally support around making Marlboro a no-hunting zone.

“It may not be my neighborhood but trying to help wildlife shouldn’t have any borders,” she said. “To have this arrow stuck in her face, she still has so much will to live,” said Holmes.

Karen Yi: 732-643-4277; kyi@gannettnj.com