Scrambled deer in the road this morning

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

Ridin' to work in a light rain 2 hours before daylight today and found two deer which had just been hit. One was dead, one was scrambled but still alive in the ditch.

Embarrassingly, I didn't have any means to put the injured one out of it's misery and had to call 911 to request an LEO be sent out to do so. I'd like to think that whoever hit them, stopped, got out and had already called to get the deer put down but since there was no vehicle there I doubt it. How can you hit two deer and not at least stop to check on the deer and your vehicle?

[PAVALKER]

Hmmmm, maybe they got hurt and were taking themselves to the hospital..... or maybe they did stop and didn't have a means to put it out of it's misery as well.  Or, they could have stopped, seen the damage and were pissed enough to just ignore the hurt animal and leave.

How long a time period do you think it was from the accident until you arrived there?

Were you riding the bike to work this morning on a cold December morning in a light rain?  It was cold enough here for ice formation on the road (and frost on the cars/grass).

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

Hmmmm, maybe they got hurt and were taking themselves to the hospital..... or maybe they did stop and didn't have a means to put it out of it's misery as well.  Or, they could have stopped, seen the damage and were pissed enough to just ignore the hurt animal and leave.

How long a time period do you think it was from the accident until you arrived there?

Were you riding the bike to work this morning on a cold December morning in a light rain?  It was cold enough here for ice formation on the road (and frost on the cars/grass).

I suppose it could have been any of that but it was most likely a local driving with no insurance and/or license.

My truck sits out but the bike is in the barn so I can avoid scraping windows if I ride. Besides, it was 36 degrees when I left for work this morning and wasn't supposed to get any colder so it seemed like a good day to ride to me.  

[KSDragonRider]

Wife came on the same thing the other morning.. She left 30 min after me, and I did not see a deer in the road, but she did, and it was alive and fighting hard, but you could see part of the back with a right angle break in it.

She called the local yocal to come out and do his thing... she was pretty torn up that so quick after the accident, the car that hit them was not still around and the leo did not know it had happened.

[eric in md]

  there like giant walking rats .. sorry i even feed them in my back yard but i hit 2 or 3 a yr with the truck, instant hambuger . hate them on the road hit one with bike at 60mph not fun . they really scare me more then anything on the road . sorry for the rant

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

there like giant walking rats .. sorry i even feed them in my back yard but i hit 2 or 3 a yr with the truck, instant hambuger . hate them on the road hit one with bike at 60mph not fun . they really scare me more then anything on the road . sorry for the rant

Yeah, they scare me too when I'm on the scooter. I have two or three close calls with them every year and have had them slam into the side of my truck twice on my way to work when I decided at the last moment not to ride.

I did finally take one last Saturday with the muzzleloader, good clean neck shot on a medium size doe at 80 yards.

I guess it's the hunter in me but it was difficult to have to leave one lay that was injured. Both deer were gone on my way home so they went into someones freezer or to the local "feline rescue center".

[RoadKill]

there like giant walking rats .. sorry i even feed them in my back yard but i hit 2 or 3 a yr with the truck, instant hambuger . hate them on the road hit one with bike at 60mph not fun . they really scare me more then anything on the road . sorry for the rant

They think the same of humans I am sure. The population needs controlled better and they are very tasty critters as well,but no innocent animal should have to suffer.

[PaulO]

Sorry to show my ignorance but if you came across a severly injured deer or other large animal and had a gun with you,  what would be the proper way to go about "helping it out of its misery"?  I am only asking because I have recently moved form a metroplitan area to a much more rural area with lots of animals and have zero experience helping any animal expire.
Paul

[R J]

When I was an LEO, if we were told that the DNR people could get to the scene shortly we let them handle the situation. Either way we were told to put the animal out of it's misery.  We were told to slit their throat or put a bullet between the eyes and if DNR could get the carcass wait on them, otherwise call the rendering service.  In my 32 years I only got to slit 2 throats and about 6 shot in the head.   Figured it was easier to clean my weapon than to get the blood out of my clothes.   When we were on the motor, it was always a bullet.   Didn't carry a knife on the bike.

If DNR got the animal, the meat went to the homeless and other shelters.

In later years of my tenure, CalTRANS handled these type calls.  We went to the scene to control traffic, or take charge till they got there.   If the later we did put the animal out of it's misery.    In 3:00 to 6:30 PM or 5:00 to 8:30 AM rush hour traffic, we could beat CalTrans hands down.    Hard to manuever a big truck with out a siren, only have orange or red/blue lights.    They had a lot of rules on which lights to use.    Most of the drivers only used the orange & horns to keep their butt out of trouble.

[PaulO]

I assume for a civilian ike myself even though I possess a ccw, I would be subject to prosecution for performing euthanasia on an injured animal with my gun if it was on public property such as the side of a road.  Discharge of a weapon rules do not appear to have an exception for such actions.  It would be hard not to take some action in such a situation where the animal was suffering and "official" help was a long way out.
Paul

[The Anvil]

Sorry to show my ignorance but if you came across a severly injured deer or other large animal and had a gun with you,  what would be the proper way to go about "helping it out of its misery"? 

You could always just drive over it's head.

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I assume for a civilian ike myself even though I possess a ccw, I would be subject to prosecution for performing euthanasia on an injured animal with my gun if it was on public property such as the side of a road.  Discharge of a weapon rules do not appear to have an exception for such actions.  It would be hard not to take some action in such a situation where the animal was suffering and "official" help was a long way out.
Paul

It would depend on where you were and the discretion of the officer I think. There is no allowance in the law here as far as I know but the county LEO's here would expect you to take care of it if possible I think.

Last year a neighbor hit a small buck in front of my house which wound up in my yard injured. The neighbor finished it off with the revolver he had in his truck. When the deputy arrived he explained he had done so and the deputy said he "had no problem with that" and the accident report and disposition of the meat followed.

If it had happened 70 miles East of here in Indianapolis things would have been much different. Guess that's one of the many reasons I don't live there.