difficult decision, what would you do?

[WayneChristie]

You are driving a backroad far from anywhere, see a doe in the ditch. You stop, she just lays there looking at you. You get out, and she struggles to her feet when you are 10 feet away, and hobbles up the ditch a few feet. When you get closer she manages to crawl under the fence, and move 100 feet or so into the field, dragging a broken hind leg behind her. All you have with you is a .22, and a knife. Cant get close enough to put her down with a knife, would you try and put her down with the .22? No cell phone, miles from anywhere, so you cant contact Fish and Wildlife. What would you (or should you) do in this situation?

[Kanonfodder]

Shoot her no question

[redneck posse]

tough call Wayne if i could get close enough to her for a good head shot with the .22 i think that's what i would do and take my chances with F&W. hate to see any animal in pain or suffer.

[Renslip]

Everyone knows what the law is. Let nature take its course. It may be sad but it is what nature is all about.

[sheephunter]

The law would not be on your side if you shot her. If you do, you need to be prepared for the possible consequences. I saw a calf elk with a severe compound fracture earlier this week and as much as it pained me to do so, I left him be to let nature take its course. Tough call either way.

[hal53]

In an ideal world, you could hunt down the p*****s that shot and left her...oh wait...that's not politically correct, sadly the above posts are correct, Mother Nature will look after it, not pretty, but.....

[Ken07AOVette]

She would not suffer any longer. Animals feel pain, and the thought of her being eaten alive would keep me up at night, if I could have helped.

[BrownBear416]

My advice would be do what you think is right and dont post about it on here :)

[redneck posse]

My advice would be do what you think is right and dont post about it on here :)

think thats the best advice you are gonna get.

[WayneChristie]

age old story, sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do. Pretty sure from the tracks on the road she slipped on the ice and broke it.

[Redfrog]

My advice would be do what you think is right and dont post about it on here :)

Good advice.

[Bushmaster]

Easy decision......

And if this was your dog, they'd charge you if you didn't stop the suffering and put it down !!

[catnthehat]

Easy decision......

And if this was your dog, they'd charge you if you didn't stop the suffering and put it down !!
But we are not talking about a dog here, we are talking about a deer.
I had this very same dilemma a few years back when sun of a gun amd I were motoring up the Athabasca to do some shooting one July.
We spied a buck on an island with a broken pelvis.
Seems the wolves were at him and he went over a huge bank to get away, was able to swing to the island, but could not get on the dry land.
I phoned the F&W, and they said to shoot it.
I think if you called them ( most people carry a cell phone these days) everything would be okay.
If you could not contact them, it would be a decision to make at that time, not here on the 'net!:cool:
here's a pic of the buck I shot, I'm pointing to the puncture marks on his hip from a bite .
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/catnthehat/wolfbite.jpg
Cat

[artie]

thats the type of question they discuss in hunter education classes. Their bottom line is to call the fish and wild life but in you case when so far out of reach I would do a Ralf Klien and shoot shovel and shut up

[timba]

I would not let the animal suffer,put it down

[6.5 shooter]

My advice would be do what you think is right and dont post about it on here :)

X#

[AB2506]

In an ideal world, you could hunt down the p*****s that shot and left her...oh wait...that's not politically correct, sadly the above posts are correct, Mother Nature will look after it, not pretty, but.....

Why would you leap to the conclusion that someone had shot and left her?

Question clearly states that she was lying in a road ditch. More likely she was hit by a car.

[Twisted Canuck]

Mother Nature can be grim to her children......doing what is morally right in this situation is not legally right. How screwed up is that?

As tough as it is, you don't want to jeapordize yourself for the sake of the animals suffering I think. Unless you are far far away from any chance of comprimising yourself......Either way, this happens all the time when there is no one about to help the animal, but the coyotes or wolves will take care of it every time.

Its the Great Circle of Life.....and it often ain't pretty.

[TIMWOLF]

No question, shoot it.

Its going to be wolf/coyote snacks anyways, so why prolong its death any longer. Shoot it with the .22 and be done with it.

[Dakota369]

She would not suffer any longer. Animals feel pain, and the thought of her being eaten alive would keep me up at night, if I could have helped.

X2

[tbosch]

You are driving a backroad far from anywhere, see a doe in the ditch. You stop, she just lays there looking at you. You get out, and she struggles to her feet when you are 10 feet away, and hobbles up the ditch a few feet. When you get closer she manages to crawl under the fence, and move 100 feet or so into the field, dragging a broken hind leg behind her. All you have with you is a .22, and a knife. Cant get close enough to put her down with a knife, would you try and put her down with the .22? No cell phone, miles from anywhere, so you cant contact Fish and Wildlife. What would you (or should you) do in this situation?

I was in this exact situation Wayne except I didnt have a 22. I killed her with my knife. She was in a ton of pain and I coulndt stand to see her suffering. It may have been illegal but I drove away feeling good about what I had done.

[Tonto]

Why is everyone so quick to kill this deer. It is illegal!!!
When you go fishing and you hook a fish that is not legal to keep and it is bleeding profusely, do you kill it then throw it back ? Or do you just let it go to die a long lingering death? I would never take a chance at being charged for the sake of not "letting nature take it's course"

[Stewie]

It was most likely hit by a car... how is that Natures Course...?

Shoot her for sure… a bullet is going to be a lot nicer way to go then what the wolves or coyotes are going to do to it…

Had a similar situation with a Bull Moose… heading up northern BC to do some fishing and came across a bull with its back end broke… it was laying in the middle lane of the highway… F&W was about an hour away so we stopped the suffering and got it safely off the road from other vehicles…

[sjemac]

Screw the law. Sometimes basic empathy needs to be applied. I had the exact same scenario (doe smacked by a car) a couple of weeks ago and didn't hesitate. I opened her carotid and sent her on her way. Didn't call anyone since my past experiences in calling have led me to believe that they don't give a crap and don't want to be bothered. She was gone the next AM. So someone or something got her.

[hal53]

Why would you leap to the conclusion that someone had shot and left her?

Question clearly states that she was lying in a road ditch. More likely she was hit by a car.
very true..my fault for jumping to an assumption, just because hunting season was open

[Ken07AOVette]

I was in this exact situation Wayne except I didnt have a 22. I killed her with my knife. She was in a ton of pain and I coulndt stand to see her suffering. It may have been illegal but I drove away feeling good about what I had done.

+2

Many years ago I hit a deer with a truck, and it obviously had a broken back. It was laying there suffering, no chance of living long.
I had a huge 'rambo' knife in the truck, bought it at the fair, for gawd knows what, but was able to end the suffering. I have never regretted that decision.

A woman hit a deer in Hwy 16 West of Lloydminster. 5 vehicles stopped to assist. After she hit it, another brain dead moron from Kitscoty blew right through the middle of the trucks, at highway speed, launching her vehicle over the deer, which got caught in her suspension. She dragged that deer 12 miles, still alive!!!! to the corner of 897 and Hwy 16.
When I finally was able to stop her, with blinking lights, horn, waving, everything I had, she rolled down the window and asked if it was a human or animal she had hit?
I told her it was a deer, pulled the head out, and amazingly it was still breathing. It was literally being ripped to shreds.

Imagine being hit twice, dragged at 110 kph for 12 miles and then finally stopped.

HOW THE HELL COULD YOU NOT KILL THE POOR ANIMAL???

I put the front wheel of my truck on its head/neck and killed it, then 2 of us were able to unhook it from the car. The woman never even got out, when we moved it away she drove off. That stupid b**** would have went home and parked in the garage, without knowing if it was a deer, skunk, cow, moose or her nephew lying dead under the car.

You tell me how ANYONE with a conscience could let that animal suffer any more? (not referring to her, I am referring to the 'law abiding citizens' that would walk away and let nature take over)

This was long before I was a hunter, had never harvested an animal in my life.

[BowhuntAB]

Thats a tough one....I think the F&W love this type of thing. They would definatly make and example out of you. I had a buddy that was charged for putting a deer he hit out of its misery....stupid law.

I'm not sure what i would do....:confused:

[huntinstuff]

I shot and killed a wounded cow moose.

I called the CO. He came out and checked her out (broken legs, ribs). He asked how it happened and I told him I didn't know. Just saw her flopping in the ditch.

He told me he would have preferred to have been called first, but there was no harm done.

I shot her 6ft off of Highway 43. Waited for no traffic, shot downward behind her front leg and it was over in 5 seconds.

Could I have been charged? Yup. Did I care. Nope.

Probably not the smartest thing, but it was the right thing I think anyways...

[Tonto]

A lot of you guys have admitted that breaking the law is ok. Iguess it would be alright if I went and put a trophy sheep out of it's misery then.

[sjemac]

A lot of you guys have admitted that breaking the law is ok. Iguess it would be alright if I went and put a trophy sheep out of it's misery then.

If you simply killed it and left it without taking parts, I'd have your back to the end.

[Tonto]

That would be wasting edible meat.

Having my back sure wouldn't pay the fine or give me a hunting license.

[Nationwide]

That would be wasting edible meat.

Having my back sure wouldn't pay the fine or give me a hunting license.

yah you got that right good you see that tonto some people just like to talk the talk .

[monstermulie]

I would have shot her now questions asked. And if by chance I did get charged by the F&W I would contact PETA, and every media source with in 500 km to let them know how a citizen with compassion is being punished. Bet the charges would be dropped then once they had that kind of heat on them

[bushnell]

I have also been in that situation. Hit a deer on the way home from a fishing trip. Missed the first 3, but didn't see the 4th one in the ditch. Hit him hard enough to break the back legs and most of his ribs. Only did the right thing,put him out of his misery. After that reported what happened to the R/C's.

[j m]

That would be wasting edible meat.

Having my back sure wouldn't pay the fine or give me a hunting license.

By that reasoning, driving by a roadkill is wasting edible meat. Can't see a charge sticking on that.

I have seen animals hit that were stunned that eventually walked away with a chance to survive and others with broken legs and obviously paralyzed. I dealt with each situation as I felt it should be.

If I was charged for doing what I felt was right, there is no way in hell I would call peta for help. I would take my lumps.

[pottymouth]

I got hit by cow moose this fall, smashed both her front legs ,nothing was left of them. As she lay in the middle of the highway bleeding from every orphus, I thought about doing the ethical thing, but remembered what I was told about , how I could be charged. My hunting priveliges mean more to me. I 'm glad I didn't, there were 3 F&W trucks that happened to be behind me by 2 min. They put her down and said , they were suprised I didn't put her down, cause most do. Then I asked if they would have charged me If i did. I can't remember all the charges , but i believe there was either 2 or 3 charges they said.

[Tonto]

By that reasoning, driving by a roadkill is wasting edible meat. Can't see a charge sticking on that.

I have seen animals hit that were stunned that eventually walked away with a chance to survive and others with broken legs and obviously paralyzed. I dealt with each situation as I felt it should be.

If I was charged for doing what I felt was right, there is no way in hell I would call peta for help. I would take my lumps.

Roadkill is an already dead animal. You didn't cause the death, so you didn't waste.

You use a perfect example of why peeps shouldn't take things into there own hands. Some animals may be able to walk away, and others should be left to nature. And calling PETA for anything is just wrong. Unless you just want to tell them togotohell.

[catnthehat]

A lot of you guys have admitted that breaking the law is ok. Iguess it would be alright if I went and put a trophy sheep out of it's misery then.

Only if you called the F&W and didn't take the head - otherwise you are poaching.

Trophy or not, this thread is not about that, it is about putting down an animal that is injured by other than legal shooting or one that was shot by someone other than yourself.....
Cat

[Tonto]

this thread is not about that, it is about putting down an animal that is injured by other than legal shooting or one that was shot by someone other than yourself.....
Cat

Correct..... and it is illegal to do so without prior authorization from F&W.

[pottymouth]

Correct..... and it is illegal to do so without prior authorization from F&W.

Which sometimes if you call it in , and they can't get there in time,they have given people the o.k to do so.

[j m]

Tonto,
An animal paralyzed & screaming in the ditch, although still breathing, is roadkill. Ending it's life a few minutes sooner doesn't change it's fate.

I was trying to relate that not all animals need to be put down. There are some that will survive on their own.

[Jester]

My advice would be do what you think is right and dont post about it on here :)

Bingo..

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Whoopsy double post .

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

I shot and killed a wounded cow moose.

I called the CO. He came out and checked her out (broken legs, ribs). He asked how it happened and I told him I didn't know. Just saw her flopping in the ditch.

He told me he would have preferred to have been called first, but there was no harm done.

I shot her 6ft off of Highway 43. Waited for no traffic, shot downward behind her front leg and it was over in 5 seconds.

Could I have been charged? Yup. Did I care. Nope.

Probably not the smartest thing, but it was the right thing I think anyways...

Good stuff . The right thing done . I would of taken my Chances in court , There is unlikely no court in this country considering there's so many Anti hunting groups and such for a Animal to lay helpless dieing in pain and agony Slit my throat now or lay a bullet into me . I can see the Fish and wildlife charging you , but I dont think one would be convicted . Fish and Wildlife officers tend to me be very Level headed people , unlike RCMP . :lol::lol::lol: Anyway thats a story for around the table , or fire . :evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin::evilgrin:

[Nationwide]

You are driving a backroad far from anywhere, see a doe in the ditch. You stop, she just lays there looking at you. You get out, and she struggles to her feet when you are 10 feet away, and hobbles up the ditch a few feet. When you get closer she manages to crawl under the fence, and move 100 feet or so into the field, dragging a broken hind leg behind her. All you have with you is a .22, and a knife. Cant get close enough to put her down with a knife, would you try and put her down with the .22? No cell phone, miles from anywhere, so you cant contact Fish and Wildlife. What would you (or should you) do in this situation?DID you just make this up or what Just asking thats all , I would let her go i value my hunting freedom too much good luck to the rest of you .:wave:

[WayneChristie]

since you ask, no I did not make this up. It happened to me on Sunday. I am quite certain from the tracks in the snow, she had been walking along the shoulder, and I would say 50 50 she slipped on the ice and broke her back leg, or maybe got hit,, but there isnt much traffic in the area at all. She managed to get to her feet, but didnt go too far. Was no blood, and she was fairly mobile, just dragging the back leg behind her. if she couldnt have gotten up. I would have put her down no problem, but in this case I would have had to follow her into the field a ways, and I think that would have been taken as poaching by the fish cops. Right or wrong it still bothers me that I didnt end her suffering, but it was the legal thing to do, with no way to get in touch with the fish cops for permission.

[rhuntley12]

Surprised people know the numbers out in the field of F&W to call, I wouldn't know what number to dial.

That said, I'd like to see if charged how fast a jury or judge would send you on your way, thats even if the prosecutor went with the charges. I think it would be major bad PR on their part once the news got ahold of it.

[Tonto]

since you ask, no I did not make this up. It happened to me on Sunday. I am quite certain from the tracks in the snow, she had been walking along the shoulder, and I would say 50 50 she slipped on the ice and broke her back leg, or maybe got hit,, but there isnt much traffic in the area at all. She managed to get to her feet, but didnt go too far. Was no blood, and she was fairly mobile, just dragging the back leg behind her. if she couldnt have gotten up. I would have put her down no problem, but in this case I would have had to follow her into the field a ways, and I think that would have been taken as poaching by the fish cops. Right or wrong it still bothers me that I didnt end her suffering, but it was the legal thing to do, with no way to get in touch with the fish cops for permission.


You did the right thing!!!
That deer has a pretty good chance of surviving.

[WayneChristie]

I did the legal thing, if not the moral thing on Sunday with the doe. then today our very friendly young mouser at work gets run over by the loader, crushed her back end, so I ended up having to put her down. guess its just not my week. Didnt feel bad enough already about the doe.

[Okotokian]

No cell phone, miles from anywhere, so you cant contact Fish and Wildlife. What would you (or should you) do in this situation?

My advice? Get a cell phone. ;)

As for the deer, I wouldn't shoot it. I feel bad, but I'm not going to risk big fines and losing my hunting licence to hurry nature on a little.

[WayneChristie]

My advice? Get a cell phone. ;)

As for the deer, I wouldn't shoot it. I feel bad, but I'm not going to risk big fines and losing my hunting licence to hurry nature on a little.

I have to agree with you on the cell phone, being in the boonies, its finally gotten to a point where its a necessity not a luxury like it was when I lived in the city. It would have been a relief to get permission to do the right thing not the legal thing too. A lesson learned, the hard way. Karma can really suck.

[mooseknuckle]

You are driving a backroad far from anywhere, see a doe in the ditch. You stop, she just lays there looking at you. You get out, and she struggles to her feet when you are 10 feet away, and hobbles up the ditch a few feet. When you get closer she manages to crawl under the fence, and move 100 feet or so into the field, dragging a broken hind leg behind her. All you have with you is a .22, and a knife. Cant get close enough to put her down with a knife, would you try and put her down with the .22? No cell phone, miles from anywhere, so you cant contact Fish and Wildlife. What would you (or should you) do in this situation?

Giver her the ol Lead aspirin