Deer wrapped in thick wire sought in Langley's Brookswood neighbourhood

Wildlife advocates and the B.C. Conservation Service are looking for a deer in Langley that has thick wire wrapped around its midsection.

Angela Fontana with the Critter Care Wildlife Society says volunteers with the organization were first notified about the doe last week, and since then, it and its two fawns have been sighted several times in the Brookswood neighbourhood.

"She can still run quite well, but she does kind of stumble a lot. She can't jump as high. She's not quite able to get her full range of motion," she said.

"She's more at risk of getting attacked by a coyote or even somebody's dog. She's not able to find food as well. The fawns as well: if something happens to mom because of this, they're more at risk of getting killed by a predator or a car."

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Fontana says the idea is to find the deer, tranquilize it and then get the wire off.

She says it's important to get the wire off soon, before the deer begins fattening up for the winter.

"We're worried it's just going to rub and get embedded into her, which is just going to spell disaster for her," she said.

Public asked to report sightings

Fontana suspects the deer got into the wire in a Brookswood ravine where she says illegal dumping is common, but conservation officer Jack Trudgian suspects it got caught up in wire fencing while jumping.

"It still looks fairly healthy and I understand it still has two fawns," he said. "Obviously it's lost some hair from the wire, but it still looks healthy."

Trudgian says conservation officers are waiting for another sighting of the deer, so they can assist in tranquillizing it and getting the wire off.

Anyone who sees the deer is asked to call Critter Care or the B.C. Conservation Service's RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.