Euthanizing Injured Wildlife

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WaMason

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Ok, had a sad situation this last weekend, I went up to the mountains here in Washington state to stay at an Aunts cabin, and on the 150 mile drive my friend at the wheel was "ambushed" by 6-7 deer all darting into the road at once.

He tried to stop, and swerved to miss them, however he hit one of them in the head with the front bumper. Once we had come to a safe stop, we jumped out of the car to check to see whether it had run off, and whether we should call the local park rangers office. The deer had run off, and I hope it ended up lucky, but being realistic, I imagine it didn't make it.

I called my Uncle who is a Park Ranger and asked him what to do, he said what was done was done, that there was no one near that area who would be able to respond in a manner to really check into the situation, so it wasn't worth a call.

Maybe I am giving the issue to much thought anyway, but I didn't sleep well thinking of a maimed animal.

This being said, I had my .357 with me, and in the event I had come across a grievously injured animal would I have been within the law to kill it? What would my fellow HighRoaders do in this situation?
 
If i come upon a bald eagle with a broken back that is twitching and snapping but unable to do anything otherwise..., I will put it out of its misery... I refuse to watch an animal suffer or leave it while it is.
 
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Each state is likely going to be different - in the State of Illinois, there is a specific statue that forbids anyone other than LE or a DNR employee from putting down an injured animal. I can't say that I've ever seen anyone prosecuted for it, but it's definitely a no-no in Illinois. Too lazy to go look up the statue to see the penalty, but this is Illinois after all - wouldn't surprise me one bit if they tagged you for a felony here... That same code, btw, says that the guy that whacked it can harvest the meat.

God, I gotta get out of this state.

I can't think of too many situations where I would want to put one down. If the deer was twitching right there in front of my car, it would likely bleed out pretty quick. I'm certainly not going to "end its suffering" by capping it and have it just be my luck that a DNR guy would drive around the corner moments later.

I didn't have to really worry about this issue the last time I tagged one with the truck...

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Laws from state to state may vary, but here in Kansas the only one who can legally "euthanize" a wild animal is a law enforcement officer (which includes conservation officers).

Taking the deer as an example, I assume it was after dark. Not currently deer season. You don't have a current hunting license. You don't have a current deer permit/tag. You shoot the deer and are subject to arrest and charged with shooting deer out of season, shooting deer after legal shooting hours, shooting deer without a current hunting license, shooting deer without a proper permit/tag. Oh, and if you shot the deer from the road, add a charge of discharging a firearm from a road/highway.

As bad as I would hate to leave an injured animal to suffer, I would not want the possible consequences of a good deed turning bad.
 
I have eaten road kill deer in GA. Take care of the meat and you can eat right up to the bumper marks.
That being said, you don't want to let a round go flying off the pavement in a urban zone even if it might be legal.
Use your head and you will almost always stay out of trouble.
 
I asked a LEO what to do once. He told me to use my judgment and go on about my day. But, if I wanted the animal (especially out of season), wait for responding officers.

I worked with a guy years ago that tagged one with his truck. A passing trooper saw it. The trooper was going to put it down, but the guy offered to instead. Not only did the trooper let him, but he also helped him load it in the back of the truck.
 
He tried to stop, and swerved to miss them, however he hit one of them in the head with the front bumper. Once we had come to a safe stop, we jumped out of the car to check to see whether it had run off, and whether we should call the local park rangers office. The deer had run off, and I hope it ended up lucky, but being realistic, I imagine it didn't make it.
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NEVER swerve to miss an animal....Please
 
Kansas is like many other states it is against the law for you to do it. No one other than LE or Wildlife and parks may put down a wounded animal.
 
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Originally Posted by DeepSouth View Post
NEVER swerve to miss an animal....Please

Sadly for me I wasn't the driver.... I had a talking to with my friend over this after the event, you can rest assured...
 
I had a wild turkey hit the side of my jeep in Florida a few years back, nearly gave me a heart attack, I never saw it just heard a loud thump on the driver's side fender. I pulled over and saw the turkey limping and dragging a wing. I wrapped it's head with a towel and took it home, there was a wild animal rescue clinic a few miles from my home, so I could justify having it in the car. It was 1 week before Thanksgiving and was excellent eats.
 
A young girl here swerved to avoid an animal and hit a non-bending 3' diameter oak tree. There's a cross hanging on that tree now.
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And that's not even the worst case scenario. When it really gets nasty is when the swerver crosses the line and tags someone head-on.
 
My Brother hit a pheasant in North Dakota. Or rather a pheasant flew into my Brothers windshield.
I don't think there was anything left to " put down".
Same goes for his windshield.

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It’s memory lane time….

When I was living in SC, the wife and I were leaving the neighborhood and we saw a squirrel that had just been run over by another car. The back half of the squirrel was as flat as a pancake, but the front half seemed to be functional. The poor critter was crawling across the street on just his front legs and the wife was freaking out. She wanted me to go home and get my .22 to put it out of its misery.

It’s illegal to discharge a firearm in North Charleston. I called the sheriff’s department and explained the situation. He suggested I just run over the rest of the squirrel with my car to finish it off. I tactfully explained that the wife unit would not find that acceptable. He OK’d me to bust a cap in the squirrel’s skull, but under no circumstances was I to shoot it out of a tree, it was either into the ground or not at all. Rodger rodger, so I loaded up the Single Six and drove back to the scene of the accident.

We looked around and spotted the half-flat squirrel climbing a tree! He pulled off at a branch to rest a spell, so I found a long stick and began to swing it at him to knock him off the branch. After several swings, I managed to smack him to the ground. Then I plugged him.

All I could think of afterwards was someone watching me arrive, pull the car to the side of the road, find a stick, knock a squirrel out of a tree, and then murder it.
 
A friend got in a jam with Texas game warden a few years back for shooting a deer he had hit with a .22lr revolver. Finally worked it all out, but he was threatened with a citation and it took several months for a decision from the higher up muckity mucks...
 
Cuzzin is right about game laws in Texas and I have been told directly by a warden in hunter ed. class it ain't legal. If I am out in the country and the critter is suffering, I probably wouldn't wait for the warden.
 
As mentioned, the laws are state specific. Sadly I don't even know the law in my own state! But I would definately put an animal out of its misery if I could do so safely away from the road.

My brother lives in urban-ville Michigan. A car hit a deer in front of his house and the deer was suffering in the ditch. He went and go his Mosin Nagant (that I gifted to him) and a bullet and put the deer out of its misery. He really wanted to salvage the meat, but in Michigan is would have been illegal to do so (according to him) because it is considered poaching.

We have some weird laws in this country...
 
but in Michigan is would have been illegal to do so (according to him) because it is considered poaching.
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Which is the reason that the LEO buddy I mentioned earlier told me to wait for responding LEOs if I wanted the meat...
 
A friend had this happen here in AL - he called on his cell phone and the Conservation officer said if he could do it in a safe manner he could put the animal down - he did with his pocket 38 - the laws are not written for honest men of integrity they are written for dishonest men of no integrity. (you can quote me on that).
 
The state law here doesnt allow shooting a road injured animal, but,....the LEO's I know and have asked have told me that if its obvious that its road hit, and I dont take it, there wouldnt likely be a problem.

I've shot maybe a half dozen road hit deer and antelope, most hit by other people. I usually pop them with the 30-30 that lives behind the seat, and go on about my business, leaving them to feed the coyotes. I hate seeing them suffer.
 
i have a few rifles that are old and nobody can match it to the rifle. I would put it down with that. No way in hell am going to let an animal suffer like that. even if it is illegal. sorry.
 
Laws be damned in such a case. Look both ways to make sure you have no witnesses and put it down. Approach with care, and of course, shoot in a safe direction. In Georgia, you can't shoot a firearm within 50 yards of a public road unless in defense of life, health or property.
 
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