Scare off animal? About time (5)
I believe the answer is:
deter
'scare off' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'animal? about time' is the wordplay.
'animal?' becomes 'deer' (I've seen this in other clues).
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'deer' placed around 't' is 'DETER'.
(Other definitions for deter that I've seen before include "Discourage (an activity)" , "Hinder, discourage" , "Put off (from an action)" , "Warn off" , "stop" .)