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Raccoon euthanized after being shot by crossbow

Crossbow bolt measured more than 20 inches in length
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A screenshot from Dr. Walton’s video shows how far the bolt was lodged into the animal. The shot fractured two ribs but caused no internal bleeding. (Photo Submitted)

A young raccoon has been euthanized after being shot in the head with a crossbow bolt nearly half a metre inlength near a Maple Ridge high school.

Dr. Alex Walton of the Dewdney Animal Hospital said he was called out to a property meters from Garibaldisecondary on Wednesday, May 3 after a raccoon was seen walking wounded in a backyard. Walton said he hasseen lots of gruesome injuries, but this one was “quite a difficult one.”

“I was actually upset enough that I had a very hard time even editing that,” Walton said. “It happened on Wednesday and I couldn’t even touch them until Friday.”

Walton said the raccoon was sure to die a slow, painful death from the shot because it wasn’t a typical “throughand through” shot where the arrow can be easily pulled out. The bolt went through the left side of the raccoon’smouth, behind its jaw and into the rib cage, fracturing two ribs. Although it didn’t cause a collapsed lung or anyinternal bleeding, it tore a hole in the stomach where the animal was suffering from peritonitis.

His problem with the shot was whoever took it simply left the animal to suffer.

“Every hunter I know is if they take a shot and aren’t sure, you go and track that animal until you finish it off,” hesaid.

The wildlife group Fur-Bearers is offering a $1,000 cash reward for information that leads to finding the personresponsible for the attack.

There have been other incidences involving raccoons in Maple Ridge over the last few weeks. On the weekend, avideo surfaced in a Facebook group showing a man walking down the street with a dead raccoon flung over hisback. Walton says he has also seen comments on the social media site about people threatening to shoot them.

In January, Marzena Ziccarelli found a dead raccoon in her Albion backyard with a dart sticking out of its back.

The person who fired the crossbow may face charges if found, as it’s illegal to shoot raccoons out of season.