One of two deer that had been fenced-in for days at the Victoria Park Armouries has drowned in Sydney Harbour.
Some who are wondering why more wasn't done to get them out earlier.
“It's sad, especially knowing that the population in Cape Breton is in decline,” said Jeff McNeil, the president of the Port Morien Wildlife Association.
For days, the two deer had been attracting attention after wandering into the fenced enclosure in Sydney's north end.
But Wednesday, one of the deer jumped the fence and the other hurt itself trying to do the same.
Department of Lands and Forests staff were called to the scene and coaxed the animal out through an open gate, but it bolted into Sydney Harbour and drowned before staff could rescue it.
Thursday, plenty of people on social media wondered why officials didn't intervene sooner.
McNeil thinks the situation could have been handled better.
“Our members feel that other things could have been addressed earlier on,” he said.
He is reminding people that there are safety concerns to be kept in mind before intervening in a situation like this.
“When you've got hoofs moving, you have the opportunity there for the animals to injure staff with that department,” McNeil said. “As well, most times if an animal is to injure somebody the animal ends up euthanized unnecessarily.”
McNeil feels public interest in the deer ended up doing more harm than good.
“They've stressed the animals more than anything,” McNeil said. “Meaning they were forced to stay there.”
It appears the other deer escaped without injury.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.
