Care2 Success! Mother Deer With Arrow in Her Face Is Saved
Another victim of a sadistic hobby makes a recovery, but she’s the exception not the rule.
- by Alicia Graef | September 3, 2015
[dropcap]A[/dropcap] mother deer who suffered for more than nine months with a bowhunter’s arrow lodged in her face has finally gotten help, thanks to the efforts of thousands upon thousands of caring people from around the world who signed a Care2 petition launched on her behalf.
The doe, who has been named Grace, was first spotted late last year in Marlboro, New Jersey, bearing an arrow that was presumably intended to end her life. Like many others who aren’t killed by bowhunters, she was callously left to suffer with a tragic injury.
Not only has she miraculously managed to survive, eating and navigating her environment without getting caught on anything, but she also gave birth to a fawn earlier this spring.
Even though wildlife officials had known about her since at least December 2014 the state’s Division of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement that they tried unsuccessfully to help her over the winter and put efforts on hold in May after she became pregnant over concerns intervention could harm her fawn.
Thankfully, her advocates kept the pressure on to help her. After Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) shared a video of Grace earlier this spring, her story took off.
A Care2 petition started on her behalf urging officials to uphold their promise to help her has gathered more than 106,000 signatures from supporters around the world and has been shared by major news outlets including USA Today, CBS and NBC.
This week their efforts to give Grace a voice paid off when wildlife officials finally located her, tranquilized her and removed the shaft of the arrow. According to a statement, a veterinarian present recommended the arrowhead be left because her wound had healed and removing it could cause further injury.
They said Grace, who is believed to be about three to four years old, was released back into the wild with her fawn and is expected to be fine.
This photo was taken as she recovered from being sedated. Credit: New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
This photo was taken as she recovered from being sedated. Credit: New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
“We thank all of the New Jersey residents and people from all over the world who have expressed concern about the deer, as well as local residents who have been very helpful in providing information on her movements throughout the community and even set up bait stations on their properties,” said David Chanda, Director of Fish and Wildlife.
Poh Yeh Holmes, who created the petition to help Grace after seeing SHARK’s video on a friend’s Facebook page, told Care2 she is humbled by the number of signatures that came in and is “over the moon” that help finally came for her.
“If something bad happens to us, we can take ourselves to the doctor but sadly, Grace is not able to. She is not able to ask for help either. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for her to graze on grass or to pick up an acorn, to reach higher up for greenery that she wanted to eat. I thought a petition to help her plight, may help,” she said.
Holmes said Grace’s advocates will now be using the petition to push lawmakers in the area to turn her range in Marlboro into a no-hunting zone to make sure she and the rest of her herd can continue to live in peace.
If you know of an animal in need in your community or elsewhere who could use some advocacy on their behalf like Grace, you can help them by starting a petition.
Editor’s Note
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here’s a coda to this story. As many of you might expect, those of you well acquainted with the mentality and wiles of the Wildlife management folks in this country (and similar elsewhere), the Facebook page of the NJ Wildlife Dept has the usual hunters whitewashing this brutal incident by simply heaping insults on the unknown bowhunting idiot who put the arrow in this animal. A typical example reads,
“PLEASE people. Don’t think for one second this was done by any semblance of a legitimate, ethical hunter. This was done by the same lowlife that poaches, litters the woods, disrespects the resource. No where near a true hunter…”
You get the drift.
Their defense argument is usually that such incidents happen because (a) the bowhunter was a moron; (b) was inexperienced; (c) was a “poacher” with no principles, and so on. In other words the old tactic of distancing themselves—the real, “ethical hunters” —from the author of this act (all too common in hunting season).
In any case, alerted to this incident by a Care2 mailing, our assoc ed Branford Perry was quick to follow the trail to the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife Facebook page
Well, as our assoc ed put it, there are no ethical hunters. Here’s his entry on the FB page:
[box] Branford Perry
Fact is the (sport) hunting fraternity is mostly made up of people who simply love guns, are stubborn at not rethinking their attitudes, find plenty reinforcement in fellow hunters and the gun industry propaganda, and love to shoot them—at live targets, which perforce is animals minding their own business.
[/box]
One last thing: We are happy this ended well and the Wildlife Management people (a stupid dominionist term) did the right thing by this animal, although I am not so sure they would have been so kind and solicitous if Big Media and social media had not put the spotlight on their actions to begin with. Those of you inclined to help Branford with the hunting crowd, and willing to punch on a knife, since this mob will quickly tax your patience, can do so at this location:
NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife
Branford can be reached directly at branford.perry@greanvillepost.com
—PG
Nauseated by the
vile corporate media?
Had enough of their lies, escapism,
omissions and relentless manipulation?
Send a donation to
The Greanville Post–or
But be sure to support YOUR media.
If you don’t, who will?
