OC'ing and dispatching a wounded animal roadside or similar?

DJEEPER · Nov 22, 2011

Ok...scenario time....

You are driving along when you see an animal (say, a deer) on the side of the road, injured and suffering (flopping around). You pull off the side of the road to investigate. The animal will certainly die from its wounds (hit by car or something...broken leg(s), back, whatever) but is still very alive.

Do you have any sort of authority, for humane purposes, to dispatch (take the suffering creature out of its misery) with a well-placed, safely-aimed shot?

Substitute any animal in this scenario (dog, bear, penguin, whale, Unladen African (not English) swallow, etc)

I do apologize if this is in the wrong spot, but i know we have a couple members with law-noggins.

reason: I was driving back from a BMX race out in richmond along Rt. 5 and obliterated a careless (or suicidal) deer with my fiancee's truck and got to thinking.

THANKS!

peter nap · Nov 23, 2011

DJEEPER said:
Ok...scenario time....

You are driving along when you see an animal (say, a deer) on the side of the road, injured and suffering (flopping around). You pull off the side of the road to investigate. The animal will certainly die from its wounds (hit by car or something...broken leg(s), back, whatever) but is still very alive.

Do you have any sort of authority, for humane purposes, to dispatch (take the suffering creature out of its misery) with a well-placed, safely-aimed shot?

Substitute any animal in this scenario (dog, bear, penguin, whale, Unladen African (not English) swallow, etc)

I do apologize if this is in the wrong spot, but i know we have a couple members with law-noggins.

reason: I was driving back from a BMX race out in richmond along Rt. 5 and obliterated a careless (or suicidal) deer with my fiancee's truck and got to thinking.

THANKS!

That's a tough question to answer here ...but

If it's Deer season and you have a license and it's legal to shoot there...yeah, it's OK.
If not, you're supposed to contact LE in the area even if it's dead.
If not, they generally contact Animal Control who does the deed.

Answer #2.
If you can shoot it or otherwise end it's misery without getting caught, you have a moral obligation to do so.
I've only had to do that once.

Riana · Nov 23, 2011

I asked this very question of the game warden (though I didn't think to ask about penguin season) when I took my hunter education course last year. What she told me was yes, it would be illegal for me to dispatch the critter, but she personally probably wouldn't issue a citation for it. I believe the correct thing to do is to contact the local constabulary, and have them take care of it.

Please bear in mind that I am not a lawyer, and as such, my free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

DJEEPER · Nov 23, 2011

Yeah, the moral obligation is what weighs in heaviest here in my mind.

I wonder how something like that would be handled in court if it was brought to that. I mean, we aren't talking about school grounds here or anything...more like roadside in the country or side road (yorktown area)

Toad · Nov 23, 2011

It doesn't matter, OC or CC or Crowbar or grilled cheese sandwich, call local law enforcement non-emergency line and report it. They will send someone out at some point to take care of it. If your that worried about it just say it's in the middle of the road/lane and they will get out there quicker.
It's just not worth risking a set of charges for discharging a weapon, poaching, holding your mouth wrong, etc. for simply an injured animal.
This is the paraphrased response I received from both cops and robbers I mean lawyers.

peter nap · Nov 23, 2011

Depending on the circumstances DJeeper, it could be moderately serious.
If you got an a$$hole Conversation Officer or Animal Control (Dog Catcher) and it's out of season, you could be fined up the wazoo and charged a hefty replacement fee as well as lose your gun.

It's against board policy to suggest breaking the law, so I won't...but sometimes it's better to follow your instincts and get the hell out of there after you've done the mercy killing.

2a4all · Nov 23, 2011

My wife and I were driving home from the County Grill the other night, when I pointed out a deer just off the road. She asked me If I had my gun (which I did) and if the deer jumped out in front of the truck and I hit it, could I shoot it.

I replied that I didn't think so because: I don't have a hunting license; the deer would be too close to (or on) the roadway; it would be after sunset; and I only had a handgun; that the better alternative would be to call the local LEA.

1245A Defender · Nov 23, 2011

well,,,

a guy in wisconsin is in trouble for doing it recently!

[h=3]So, I hit a deer tonight with my car while carrying and shot the deer..[/h]

DJEEPER · Nov 23, 2011

interesting! I hope he fights it, and i hope he wins!

very intrigued to find out.

wylde007 · Nov 23, 2011

peter nap said:
If you got an a$$hole Conversation Officer or Animal Control (Dog Catcher) and it's out of season, you could be fined up the wazoo and charged a hefty replacement fee as well as lose your gun.

Conversation officer?

:lol:

peter nap · Nov 23, 2011

wylde007 said:
Conversation officer?

:lol:

Damn!:banghead:

BillHoo · Nov 23, 2011

Oooh, a poor injured deer!

Hush little one...It's alright... It's alright Shhh Shhhh(cradleing it's head and petting it gently).. It's alright <SNAP!>

Yup. It's alright. Just snapped it's neck. Didn't waste a bullet or risk discharging a firearm within city limits.

peter nap · Nov 23, 2011

BillHoo said:
Oooh, a poor injured deer!

Hush little one...It's alright... It's alright Shhh Shhhh(cradleing it's head and petting it gently).. It's alright <SNAP!>

Yup. It's alright. Just snapped it's neck. Didn't waste a bullet or risk discharging a firearm within city limits.

You ever snap a Deer's neck Bill?

DJEEPER · Nov 23, 2011

especially a thrashing buck? Im not going to get gored, thanks! haha

Have a guy on another forum who threw his jacket over the horns to try to protect himself while he cut the buck's throat after it was shot and dying. ended up getting stuck in the arm and was laying in the hospital for a couple weeks getting his arm flushed out from the bacteria

peter nap · Nov 23, 2011

DJEEPER said:
especially a thrashing buck? Im not going to get gored, thanks! haha

Have a guy on another forum who threw his jacket over the horns to try to protect himself while he cut the buck's throat after it was shot and dying. ended up getting stuck in the arm and was laying in the hospital for a couple weeks getting his arm flushed out from the bacteria

I've never broken one's neck, which I suspect would be almost impossible, but I've cut a lot of throats. It goes with the territory when you bow hunt or muzzle load.

I started doing that when a Deer I thought was dead, got up and it took me the rest of the night to track him down.

I had one that had enough energy to put up a fight and it wasn't the antlers that got me. His hooves cut better than a couple of knives I own. I got 37 stitches out of that.

mobeewan · Nov 24, 2011

peter nap said:
That's a tough question to answer here ...but

If it's Deer season and you have a license and it's legal to shoot there...yeah, it's OK.
If not, you're supposed to contact LE in the area even if it's dead.
If not, they generally contact Animal Control who does the deed.

Answer #2.
If you can shoot it or otherwise end it's misery without getting caught, you have a moral obligation to do so.
I've only had to do that once.

In Virginia it is illegel to "hunt" within 100 feet of the road. So I would say even if you had a hunting license or were on the shoulder of a non private road and on the edge of your own property (no hunting license required for property owner and members of the immediate family) it would not be legal to shoot there to kill the deer.

I would call the sherrif's dept and let them handle it unless it one of my animals. Then I would drag it away from the road and handle it myself.

peter nap · Nov 24, 2011

mobeewan said:
In Virginia it is illegel to "hunt" within 100 feet of the road. So I would say even if you had a hunting license or were on the shoulder of a non private road and on the edge of your own property (no hunting license required for property owner and members of the immediate family) it would not be legal to shoot there to kill the deer.

I would call the sherrif's dept and let them handle it unless it one of my animals. Then I would drag it away from the road and handle it myself.

It depends on the locality. Some counties unfortunately are ditch to ditch and that's why you see those damn doghunters standing along the road on the other side of the ditch.

Mobeweewan, just like the idea of breaking a Deer's neck, have you ever tried dragging a wounded and still kicking Deer anywhere?

This is just one of those questions the OP knows the right answer and what the right thing to do is...it's just best he not broadcast it.

celticredneck · Nov 24, 2011

I received an email from a deer hunting forum that I belong to about a deer hunter who was killed by a deer this year. His buck was still alive when he approached it and it got up and charged him. He managed to finish it with his knife and wasn't gored. However during the struggle, his liver was so bruised that it shut down and he sat down and died beside the deer. Whenever I approach a downed deer, I stand and watch it before I get too close. If it makes any move to get up, I shoot it again.

RPGamingGirl · Nov 24, 2011

I'm not sure about Virginia, but in Missouri, the goal is to keep the meat fresh until someone arrives to collect it. Deer hit by the roadside, under the right conditions, and reported soon enough, are distributed to needy families (you might find out if your state has some kind of program like this in place).

However, our LEOs are unlikely to make a big fuss over it. I think if i said i thought the animal was dangerous and likely to obstruct the roadway or cause any kind of hazard at all, they would probably agree that something needed to be done. I wouldn't risk it in city limits though, as there would be too many other factors to consider (not the least of which being grouchier, more anal-retentive LEOs. Our County officers are easy to deal with and understanding about difficult situations, but city employees, not so much).

peter nap · Nov 24, 2011

RPGamingGirl said:
I'm not sure about Virginia, but in Missouri, the goal is to keep the meat fresh until someone arrives to collect it. Deer hit by the roadside, under the right conditions, and reported soon enough, are distributed to needy families (you might find out if your state has some kind of program like this in place).

However, our LEOs are unlikely to make a big fuss over it. I think if i said i thought the animal was dangerous and likely to obstruct the roadway or cause any kind of hazard at all, they would probably agree that something needed to be done. I wouldn't risk it in city limits though, as there would be too many other factors to consider (not the least of which being grouchier, more anal-retentive LEOs. Our County officers are easy to deal with and understanding about difficult situations, but city employees, not so much).

You're allowed to keep the meat here RP. But only after LE is notified.
It used to be that you had the choice of having the state repair the car or keeping the meat. The State got tired of fixing cars.:lol:

OC'ing and dispatching a wounded animal roadside or similar?

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