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Disturbing roadkill

3686 Views 16 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  tator, 
C
On my way to school today (freshman in college) there was a cop pulled over on the side of the road, with no real room to pull over so everyone had to drive around him slowly. Found out he was sitting there next to a deer in the grass by the road that had obviously been hit, and was still alive. It was a doe and looked in a lot of pain...even looked like it was convulsing some. But alive enough to keep its head up....I felt terrible that the cop hadn't just shot it in the head or something...he was sitting in his car filling out paperwork. :confused: Maybe has something do do with not shooting a firearm by the road? I dont know but common sense says put it out of its misery, I hated to see it suffering like that. Would have been good meat too....
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H
Some states probably require a DNR person to dispatch game animals? police really have to account for every shot fired and I'm sure a whole lot of paperwork to file. It doesn't due the animal any good but I understand some of it. Hopefully someone came out fairly quickly to do the job.
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C
Well the deer was gone on my way home but that was 10 hours later...hopefully someone put it out soon after we saw it. Too much legal crap that sometimes gets in the way of common sense and basic ethics.
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W
I understand how anyone would want to put it out of its misery, but hunting man is right. due to safety the cop couldn't shoot it on the side of the road. It is concidered a safety issue as well as mountains of paper-work.
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BruceBruce1959
I had this happen to me once, A doe was hit by a truck two vehicles in front of me,,, A game warden was called, after approx. 35 minutes the game warden hadn't arrived yet, I couldn't watch the doe suffer any longer she obviously had a broken back with internal injuries, I knew she wasn't going to make it, I used my knife and ended her suffering. The Warden arrived after about 50 minutes and thanked me for ending her suffering however I don't know if all wardens would be so understanding, SO it's best to let them do their job.
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su106
we have deer hit in front of our home all the time the cops come and talk about whos job it is to kill it and then they shoot it with a shotgun that has 6 shot in it so the deer dies but not real quick to get a pa game officer here would take time theirs not alot of them here but if i was to end the suffering i'd get a fine for poaching or shooting after hours
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J
I shot a **** within city limits once. I was on my way home from work and the **** was in the middle of the road looking right at me. I got out of the car to see why it was just sitting there. The whole lower half of its body was crushed. With no cell phone on my and no cars on the road I shot it in the head with my pistol, went home and called the Dispatch center. She tried to give me grief (the Dispatcher) I told her to tell it to the **** and if she felt so inclined to go ahead and send an officer to my address. No one showed up and Nothing more happened. I wasnt going to let the **** suffer like that though.
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C
Yeah if I had a good knife and came across a suffering deer with no officers to dispatch it, I'd go out of the way of regulations a bit to end its suffering. I might have a bit more respect for the wildlife than for the legal issues that would cause unnecessary suffering. But then...deer get torn apart by coyotes and that's natural and doesn't bother me....maybe it's the fact that it was a road hit and the deer just sits there, not the meal of coyotes but a helpless suffering deer that should be shot and dressed for the freezer. :rolleyes: I wonder if someone took that deer home to eat. I hear does are especially good eating. I haven't yet tried venison, I cant wait till I get the opportunity.
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timberghost
Out here in rural farm country who ever shows up first can dispatch the animal because the Erie County Sheriffs actually carry game tags to tag/report the deer after it has expired. Not sure if the villages, towns, State Police, or other county sheriff depts do that but I'd imagine it's straight across the board here in this wonderful state. Hey catman, does are very nice to eat. I call it sweet meat. Nice and tender.
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tator
catman- next time, if you have a knife, pull over and offer to put the doe out of it's misery. you'd be surprised what officers will let you do... I would bet that he'd let you go ahead and end it for her. He might've even let you take it once the Conservation Dept was contacted...
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C
tator said:
catman- next time, if you have a knife, pull over and offer to put the doe out of it's misery. you'd be surprised what officers will let you do... I would bet that he'd let you go ahead and end it for her. He might've even let you take it once the Conservation Dept was contacted...
Click to expand...
Probably so, and in Tennessee you can take a deer that was road killed if you contact the TWRA first (I think so) and report it. It's in our hunting laws....not sure if it applies to deer you didn't hit with your car, but they'd probably not have a problem with it.
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Predator
in Illinois, the person who hits the deer has full legal claim to it and if they don't want it they can transfer that ownership to anyone they want.
no tags are required to dispatch road hit animals and you do not have to report it.

however, you must keep a record (Subject to inspection on request) of the sex of the deer, the date and location of the incident until the entire animal has been consumed.
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G
Awhile back we were talking about poaching and feeding our families and just about everyone said they wouldn't poach to feed their families because it was against the law. Now people are saying it is ok to break the law to end the suffering of an animal (I call this the" Disney effect"). I don't know about most people but i would break the law to end my children's hunger way before i would break the law to end an animals suffering. I know this post doesn't apply to everyone because some of you were consistent in your replies and said you better contact the authorities and let them handle it.
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BruceBruce1959
Did someone say it was okay to break the laws to end a deers suffering?
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tator
Well I know in my post it said to ask the Deputy/officer/patrolman if you can help the deer out by ending it's suffering. So that would imply that you would not be breaking the law. If I were heading home at night and hit a deer, and it had a broken back or whatever, you're darn right I would end it's suffering right then and there and then I'd call the Conservation Dept and tell them about it. Then I'd load it in the back of my pickup and probably donate it to feed the hungary. What is illegal about that?

now about the poaching....
I guess I don't see the correlation between a hit deer and poaching? Two totally different things in my mind.....
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C
Oh I'd break the law poaching animals to feed my family way before I'd break the law to end an animal's suffering. If it was between the suffering of family or the suffering of an animal, I'd put an end to the former first and worry about the deer another time.
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tator
I think before I ever degraded myself enough to take an animal on someone elses property, I'd hit up a food bank or ask family members for food, personally. That seems a little more realistic in these times, than stealing from someone.
now,, if we were in the 1800's.......
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