A Vancouver Island woman says she was attacked by deer in her yard, while her community grapples to manage the area’s growing population of the species.

Jan Picard said she heard a loud commotion in the backyard of her home in Oak Bay, a suburb of Victoria, on Monday. When she went outside, she saw a herd of deer trapped inside her yard. The animals had managed to barge through her back gate door to entry to the yard, but the door had swung shut behind them.

“They hit it [the gate] with their hooves. Bang, bang, bang, bang,” Picard told CTV Vancouver Island on Tuesday.

When Picard attempted to reopen the gate for the deer to escape, she said she was trampled by four of the adults.

“They hit me with their hooves,” she said. “I feel like I’ve been punched, like some sort of punching bag.”

Picard suffered minor injuries in the attack, which police said may have been triggered by the deer interpreting her as a threat to a nearby fawn that had run out of the yard.

It’s just the latest incident involving deer on Vancouver Island. Last week, a woman in Comox, B.C. was pinned by a deer in her yard after she tried to help the animal that had become entangled in some netting.

Sgt. Scott Norris of the Conservation Officer Service reminded the public to give deer plenty of space, especially during this time of year.

“In the fall when you see bucks, you want to give them lots of space. They’re going to be chasing each other around. They’re chasing females around. You don’t want to go anywhere near them,” he explained.

Growing problem

Despite the cautionary advice, some residents in the Oak Bay area are fed up with the ever-present deer population.

“It’s pretty scary. I come out my front door and they’re in my front yard,” one woman said.

“The deer in Oak Bay have to leave,” Picard exclaimed.

The deer problem has even become an election issue in the upcoming mayoralty race. Kevin Murdoch, a mayoral candidate, said he’s aware of residents’ concerns about the growing number of deer.

“I’ve been in support of anything we can do to control the deer from the get go,” he said.

Nils Jensen, the current mayor of Oak Bay, said efforts are already underway to control the deer population. He said the municipality is just waiting on provincial approval before they can start using darts to inject the animals with a contraceptive serum.

“If the province comes through with that document this week, it will start on Saturday,” he said. “The [Urban Wildlife] Stewardship Society has the serum, they have the dart guns, and they’re ready to go with the program.”

In 2015, Oak Bay killed 11 deer in an approved cull.

With a report from CTV Vancouver Island’s Robert Buffam