Photo: Oyama Folks

An Oyama orchardist is being investigated by the BC Conservation Officer Service after a doe and a fawn were allegedly illegally shot on a property in Oyama last week.

Colleen Hayes tells Castanet she lives right next door to the orchard on Old Mission Road and watched Thursday as the farm owner drove up to a doe and a fawn and shot them from his golf cart.

“I just heard a pop, pop, pop, pop. It was horrendous.”

Hayes says when she heard the shots being fired, she ran outside onto her lawn.

“I was yelling because I didn’t want him to shoot me and there he is on his golf cart.”

Hayes says she started yelling at him, asking what he thought he was doing, but she was ignored. She contacted the BC Conservation Officer Service immediately.

BCCOS arrived on the scene about 45 minutes after the incident and were seen leaving with the deer in the back of their truck.

A BCCOS spokesperson called the shooting an "active investigation," but declined to provide additional details because it may end up before the courts.

Shooting deer out of season can carry a hefty fine, but it’s also possible for farmers to get an exemption from the law if they have fenced in their property and taken other steps to prevent deer from damaging their crops.

A #Richmond man was fined $8K & banned from hunting for 4 years in connection with shooting a mule deer doe out of season in #Princeton in Nov. 2018. The man pleaded guilty to 4 counts under the Wildlife Act #BCCOS pic.twitter.com/zPUptBsiTY

— BC CO Service (@_BCCOS) December 14, 2019

Farmers say deer are notorious for eating blossoms from young trees and can cause thousands of dollars in damage to orchards.

This particular orchardist took steps to fence his property to keep the deer out, but that wasn’t enough.

Hayes says the BCCOS stopped by her property and took a statement from her. She said the BCCOS officer she spoke with indicated he would be back this week to follow up on the investigation.