North Bay residents worry about deer in distress

A deer in North Bay, Ont., is drawing concern from residents in the West Ferris area, who say the animal is in distress because of what appears to be a black nylon band wrapped tightly around its body.

Tracy Richardson-Sloan says her father first spotted the deer in his backyard about three weeks ago.

"He noticed that this one deer kept coming back and it was alone, and he didn't really understand why because deer like to travel together," Richardson-Sloan told CBC News.

"And he took a closer look and realized that there was a band wrapped around the deer's torso."

'It's just terrible'

After countless calls to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), Richardson-Sloan says the band still hasn't been removed.

"It's just terrible. This is unnecessary suffering," she said.

"If something isn't done about this soon, well number one, she won't make it through the winter because she won't be able to put on enough weight. And number two, during mating season, she could very well get pregnant and then forget it. That's it."

Richardson-Sloan and her father posted photos of the deer on Facebook, and through a local group for lost animals called Buster's Page.

Tracey Truchon, who runs the page, says she's received a number of concerned messages and comments since sharing the pictures. Some people have even offered to contribute to a vet bill if the deer needs treatment.

"Everyone just wants someone to go out and to try and help," she says.

"My personal concern is ... that people are very upset seeing the deer suffering like that and someone's going to try and help it. And either they're going to not be successful, get hurt, cause more pain to the deer or something like that."

MNRF making second attempt to find deer

Although Richardson-Sloan agrees the safest outcome would see the MNRF tranquilize the animal and cut the band off, she and others have talked about other ways to coax or corral the deer themselves.

"We're willing to try anything, than nothing," she said.

A spokesperson for the MNRF says an attempt to tranquilize the deer was made on June 12, but they were unable to locate it.

Another attempt  to find the deer is now being made, so that MNRF staff can remove the band and release the animal to recover on its own. If the deer cannot be found, the spokesperson says a game camera will be set up to monitor the area.

According to a post on Buster's Page, the Aspen Valley Sanctuary in Rousseau, Ont., has also offered to help.