GAINESVILLE, Ga. — People who live in a Gainesville neighborhood by Lake Lanier have seen something distressing in the last two months: Deer walking by with arrows sticking out of their bodies.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
“My husband was driving down the street and he saw a deer running along the side of his truck with an arrow straight through her neck. Several of our neighbors have seen deer shot through the eye socket.” said neighbor Kim Skoczen
Skoczen tells Channel 2′s Tom Regan that there are six or seven deer roaming around the area with arrows in their bodies.
The deer were shot with practice arrows used in archery, instead of more lethal broadhead arrows. Practice arrows can cause painful puncture wounds that harm the animals for weeks, even months.
Georgia prohibits practice arrows for hunting.
“What they’re doing is completely cruel. They’re using practice arrows, and the deer are not dying.” Skoczen said.
She says the hunting is taking place a night. A neighbor provided Regan with surveillance video showing a car spin out of the neighborhood moments after she spotted someone in her back yard.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Pregnant mom accused in 1-year-old son’s death transported to GA, denies killing him
- Woman arrested in connection to death of KC reporter who was covering Super Bowl
- Flu season in the US is the most intense it’s been in at least 15 years
Another neighbor, Dianne Nance, says a deer came into her yard two months ago with an arrow sticking through her neck. It still managed to eat.
“It breaks my heart that people would do that. I don’t understand. You just shouldn’t be hunting in the neighborhood anyway.” Nance said.
Several deer have died after being shot with the practice arrows. Two others had to be euthanized.
“The kids are upset, the adults are upset, because nobody wants to see that,” Skoczen said.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division is looking into the complaints of illegal hunting.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
