Dispatching injured roadkill?

[taws6]

Yes,
I saw a 3 legged deer on a programe about the RSPCA.
The deer in question had recently beed hit by a car, and was trapped in a field.
The decision was made to end it's suffering.
Upon closer inspection, the broken leg that was 'swinging' behind the deer, had been broken for months, and the bone that protuded from the skin was dried out.
The RSPCA said that the deer must of been in extream pain for a long time.

Makes you wonder if that is why he got run over again, or was it trying to kill itself ????

 

[Sisyphus]

I think there's a lot to be said for the attitude of wildlife photographers towards interfering with the natural way of things. A deer that that breaks its leg falling into a ravine etc will probably die of starvation or infection, and will become carrion and will decompose into the ground, ultimately supporting the rest of the eco system, and this has gone on for millenia, it's completely natural and has always been the way of things.

One of my cats, a very old one which came to me because of a friend moving house, became a bit dotty and within the space of a couple of weeks its health rapidly declined, it was clearly becoming deaf and blind, it couldnt clean itself anymore, it was in a really bad way, so much so that putting in a basket and driving it 30 miles to the vet would have been incredibly traumatising for it if it didn't kill it with shock. I knew it was going to die and I knew it was clearly suffering, but whacking it over the head with a spade to put it out of its misery was never an option. I made it as comfortable as I could and it passed away naturally with the sight and sounds of nature around it.

I suppose my point is that perhaps our tendency to anthropomorphise animals is a form of denial that pain and suffering are actually an intrinsic part of nature, and the notion of "putting an animal out of its misery" is in fact a way of keeping the spectre of our own potential for pain and suffering at bay.

Incidentally, the notion of "putting an animal out of it's misery" is not something we apply to ourselves as humans, as assisted suicide is illegal almost everywhere even in cases of terminally ill, suffering, patients.

 

[Tye Possum]

Well yes deer may fall into a ravine and die and that's natural but that doesn't mean it's dieing in peace. If your pet cat is sick then there are things you can do to help it, whether it be taking it to the vet to see what they can do or as you said just making it comfortable and letting it die in peace but you can't exactly put a pillow under the deer and cover it with a blanket and wait untill it dies. If an animal is in an enormous amount of pain and you just leave it because it's dieing naturally then that's just not cool and since we can't do anything to help it die in peace then the best thing to do if you have no other options is to put it out of it's misery. Also, people who are dieing that can't kill themselves and can't have someone else do it is just a law and maybe that's because it's considered murder to kill someone and so people who are in charge of the law that don't know the person who's suffering just think it's easier to let them die on their own. I don't like that law too much but it's for people in hospitals, if I was with a friend that was crushed or something by a boulder but still alive and there was no way to rescue them then I might end their suffering. The thing is, when a person is in alot of pain then they can probably tell you or let you know in some way that they want to die but we just can't tell with animals and that's why we either call the vet or end it's suffering on our own if we have no choice.

 

[Sisyphus]

The thing is, when a person is in alot of pain then they can probably tell you or let you know in some way that they want to die but we just can't tell with animals and that's why we either call the vet or end it's suffering on our own if we have no choice.

A person in a confused mental state or a coma can't "let you know" in anyway that they want to die and that is why the law exists to protect them. I think animals are just as vulnerable and deserve the same protections, and certainly for the layman it should be assumed that you simply don't have the right to kill an injured animal regardless of your opinon of its degree of suffering or likelyhood of recovery. That's just my personal philosophical point of view anyway...

 

[Jhenry]

Something as large as a deer, dog, coyote etc. would get shot assuming I was not in town. Smaller stuff gets a tire jack to the noggin. Buzzards have to eat too.

I did kill a suspected rabid groundhog with a shovel once but I hit it too hard and snapped the shovel handle in half. It's hard to break a tire jack or axe handle.

 

[landrovermanuk]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and have found this thread very interesting. I would like to raise a few points and hope that in doing so I do not offend anyone.
Firstly if you carry or are thinking about carrying a knife in the UK, know the law. If this site hasn't got a list of the do's and don'ts go to a knife site that will tell you what you can and can't do. The same applies to carrying anything like wheel brace/ pick axe handle. If you have a wheel brace locked in the boot that should be ok, but if it's down the side of your seat you may find yourself in big trouble.
Regarding the necking of rabbits( No not like that.) you can read many first hand accounts on many of the hunting/shootong forums. Apparently if done correctly it should not be too hard for a small adult or larger child. I'll let you know when I get some shooting land arranged.
Unless you are called out by the police to shoot an injured animal you would be on very sticky ground shooting an animal on/near a road. You may do the right thing for the right reason, but would that stand up in court if you were reported?
Lastly respect the animal, whether it is prey or accident victim.
John.

 

[Jhenry]

Valid points I am sure for the majority of the folks here. I probably should have made it clear that I live elsewhere. Now if some Bobby wants to ride his bicycle over here, tweet his whistle at me, and say "what's all this then" while I shoot an injured deer, that would be fine.

Please don't take the above as a slam, it was just a funny Monty Pythonish image that popped into my head. Made me giggle.

Frankly, in most rural areas, if a guy came accross some horribly injured animal and called the Sheriff, he would likely ask if you had a gun in the car and would you mind just shooting it before it flopped into the road and caused an accident.

 

[landrovermanuk]

Jhenry, I did notice you were not from the UK, but thought it best to remind people of our laws. Unfortunatly here in the UK it is very unlikely you would be asked to shoot an animal unless it was a local bobby who knew the animal was yours and there was no other way of dealing with it....
In the UK most people think that meat comes from a factory and you are looked upon as a blood thirsty killer who will soon start on pets and small children if you admit to hunting for food or sport(usually the same thing).

 

[Jhenry]

Understood. It really is a shame what has happened accross the waters regarding firearms in general. Great Britain has such a fine and rich history of innovation as well as top quality rifles and shotguns. A first class British custom is simply in a class of it's own. To be frank, there isn't an American rifleman who wouldn't give his eyeteeth for a bespoke British double rifle or magazine rifle.

 

[walkswithnomoccasins]

Badgers can enter a state of turpor after severe injury/shock (almost like a hibernation response). The badger can seem dead. Younger brother hit a badger on the dyfi valley (a narrow piece of road near the village of furnace). So that it didnt causeany extra problams he stook the broch in his boot intending to drop it off on a length of verge somewhere
anyway after 20 minutes drive my brother came to a layby. Opened the boot of his car to find a very alive and very vexed badger. Last time hes doin that.

 

[stijnb]

what i do for rabbits is take both legs in one hand and hit it in the neck with an axe-handle.

 

[ryback]

I have this baby in my car at all times. Good for digging out snowed/plowed in cars or pain relief of small animals.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Reverse gear?

 

[traderran]

I don't need it get in this one as I am not P.C.