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Residents in Calgary’s northwest have alerted officials about an injured jackrabbit that appears to have an arrow through its neck.

A photo of the animal was captured by Postmedia photographer Darren Makowichuk on Wednesday afternoon in Arbour Lake.

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Photo by Darren Makowichuk / DARREN MAKOWICHUK/Postmedia

“He was breathing kind of heavy,” said Makowichuk “You could tell it was through the lungs.”

He said some residents were trying to corral the animal, without much luck.

“Anytime anyone got close to it, it would have enough strength that it would take off,” he said.

CPS did confirm that they received a call around 3:40 p.m. They were called to the 100 block of Arbour Wood Close for reports of an injured rabbit.

Officers tried to catch the animal but were unsuccessful.

Jeff Valberg, sales tech and teacher at the Calgary Archery Centre, said it looked to him as if the animal had been shot with a hand-held, pistol-style crossbow. They have shorter bolts (arrows), and shoot with much less force.

“We cannot get them in the shop because they are deemed illegal, said Valberg. “They are considered a possibly concealed weapon.”

He said a responsible hunter would have used a larger bow, with tips designed to kill the animal more quickly and humanely.

“It’s totally illegal to do any hunting — let alone small game hunting — with a tip like that,” said Valberg.

He added that a legal-sized bow would not leave a bolt or arrow partially in the animal, because it would be moving too fast and with too much force.