roadkill

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Woods Wanderer

Need to contact Admin...
Jan 26, 2006
101
0
36
lincolnshire
cant belive my luck found a warm deer on the side of the road next to a layby last night i do feel kind of sad for the wee beasty tho but it was quick by the state of its head also this morning i parked my car at work to see a bloody handprint on my boot and blood smeared up the bumper :eek: good thing no-one reported it :lmao: iv got plans to use all the beast but if theres anything left over ill offer it on this site

just had to tell everyone because for obveous reasons tellin the family wont go down well
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
I'd be very careful with posting this info on a public forum, I seem to remember a post stating the law regarding this sort of thing and as I remember you are not entitled to take the deer at all. Also, you have no idea of the absolute circumstances of its death, its' head may be crushed but maybe an infectious disease had destroyed the poor beasts sight and that is why it wandered on the road before kissing an articulated lorry.

Also, I seem to remember that a deer should be gutted and the body cavity left open to cool rapidly as soon as possible after death. I'm no expert on this, I've only ever killed ants, flies, spiders and the odd bird in my youth (which I regret), but I wouldn't want you to suffer from some nasty stomach bug or worse.
 

Marts

Native
May 5, 2005
1,435
32
London
I have no personal opinion either way, but for information purposes here's what Deerstalker said elsewhere..

The of taking road killed game, provided you did not kill it yourself, is unfortunately an urban myth. No game may be killed on taken in the UK without a valid game licence. All game is the property (live or dead) of the landowner who's land it happens to be on. The 1994 Deer Act states quite clearly that it is a criminal offence to enter any land (not your own) for the purpose of killing or the taking of deer (dead or alive). Often the game rights of adjoining landowers cover the whole of the road. In the case of there being different landowers each side of the road, then each landowners rights extend to the centre of the road. In this stituation, to pick up road kill from the road or verge would mean you are guilty of poaching.

Other roads are the property of local authorities and othe executive transport agencies. These roads, although, technically, in public ownership, do not give you any extra rights to pick up game. Such game is still not your property and you can be prosecuted under the game act, the 1994 deer act, the 1961 (or is '62) theft act (stealing by finding), as well as a possible conviction for poaching.

It is interesting to note that on summary conviction, the vehicle used to pick up such game will be confiscated by the the authorities.

As a professional deer manager, a member of The Humane Slaughter Association and a marksman on a retainer to defra, I would beg you all not to attempt to hit a deer in your car. At best your car will end up a write off, at worst you will end up dead (I think about 30 people lost their lives last year as a result of deer impacts).

The health issues are far reaching. As somebody said, you really don't know why these deer are hit by cars. or indeed how they died. I have been called out to dispatch road casualties which, have been hit because they are old, diseased, darted with anaesthetics or even contraceptives.

If I or a vet dispatch an animal, we don't take it home. It becomes the resonsibility of the landowner or council to arrange collection of the carcass by the knackerman for incineration.

As a professional stalker, not only are we trained (it's a hard course) in disease recongnition (how many of you would know where a deer's lymph nodes were and how to recognise such things as bovine TB?), but we also hold a large game meat hygiene certificate, so when you buy venison, not only can you guarantee it is clean fresh meat, but you can trace it to the stalker who shot it.

We stalkers know exactly where to shoot deer and with the correct weapons. This ensures a humane kill without damaging the gut. If the gut is ruptured, then the meat is contaminated and not suitable for human consumption. It is essential that the animal is bled and gralloched straight after death (no you don't hang it up from anything). The object of the game is to cool the carcass as quickly as possible (we have special tools to hold the chest cavity open to assist rapid cooling).

Gralloching a deer is nothing like paunching a rabbit.

Considering a deer involved in a RTA will suffer fatal trauma, you have no contol over disease, gut damage, drugs, haemorrhaging etc.

Any deer that has cooled to, or near ambient temperature without being bled or gralloched is a health hazard and not suitable for human consumption




Food for thought maybe. (Pardon the appauling pun!)

Marts
 

Silverback

Full Member
Sep 29, 2006
978
15
England
This subject it seems is likely to keep cropping up on a regular basis so could I suggest that a sticky is created to clarify the legal standpoint regarding the removal and subsequent consumption of roadkill along with the potential hazards involved in the practice?

This is covered to some degree in the FAQ's sticky however I think it is important enough to warrant it's own heading leaving no doubt as to the content.
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,807
1,533
51
Wiltshire
I think you should examine the deer very carefully for any signs of diesese particularly its liver.
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
So the upshot is that the deer very well may have been put out of its misery by a vet using a drug that could have some pretty dire consequences if you eat it! I would take the hide and brain for tanning, the sinews for arra making and stitching, and the antlers if it has any for knife/fire steel handles, needle/awl making, buttons, or any other arts and crafts type things you can think of. Leave the meat, it isn't worth the risk! :eek:
 

pierre girard

Need to contact Admin...
Dec 28, 2005
1,018
16
71
Hunter Lake, MN USA
Well, it's not the same here, but I still only take those I have to shoot because they are still flopping. Most of the time I immediately dress them - takes about five minutes - but this time of year you can easily wait until you get home - or even until morning. sooner you can dress it - the better, of course.

As to what cause the deer to go into the roadway - more likely rut this time of year. They are quite prone to act nuts, does and bucks, during rut. They are also more active at full moon and just before a weather change
(barometer rising).

For the barbituate thing - best only to take those you see hit - I guess. As to legal issues - guess that is for all of you from GB to thrash out. Here you can get a permit. They used to be $8, but now they are free. Game Wardens and especially the department of transportation wish more people would take the deer. Clean up costs are astronomical.



PG
 
E

Enok

Guest
I have eaten road kill deers before but only ones that i have 'put out of thier missery' and were clear of disease. they tasted fine and all the other parts ( brains, hide etc) were put to good use :lmao:

however i would never eat anything that was dead when i found it for all the reasons bellow :yuck:
 

Spacemonkey

Native
May 8, 2005
1,354
9
52
Llamaville.
www.jasperfforde.com
Ok, so the barbituate thing... is it true or a myth that the doses in a deer that has been 'put down' can survive cooking and still harm you? After all, you are only eating a small portion of the meat of the animal at a time, so the dosage is minimal, and if the meat has been properly cooked, does it survive the heating? I want facts not hearsay... ;)
 

Silverback

Full Member
Sep 29, 2006
978
15
England
In addition to the third post please note that it is now necessary to carry out a suspended field dress if the carcass is intended for human consumption to prevent potential contamination of the meat when in contact with the ground medium. I too am a qualified stalker, I just don't bang on about it ;) :D
 

Nigel

Forager
Dec 6, 2003
235
0
Carmarthenshire
If this is the case that some sort of lethal injection is used then it would not be safe to leave the carcase at the road side, as other animals are sure to start feeding on the carcase within a very short period of time and risk being poisoned. Also land owners are notified only if the animal has been tagged, so to take road kill well I guess you will have to judge for yourself.
 
The point has been made in previous threads about roadkill deer. Some time ago in the shooting press there were some stories warning of the dangers of eating roadkill deer that you may have come across (i.e. not actually seen hit by a car & stayed with etc.). One of these stories related a tale of one individual who unwittingly fed some roadkill venison to his two terriers one evening only to find them dead the next morning, killed by the barbiturate overdose used to put the deer down. As for deer left on the side of the road after a vet has put it down, I think this then becomes the local council's responsibility to collect & dispose of the carcase safely.
By all means use the hide, sinew antlers etc. but I'd steer clear of the meat!
:AR15firin :drive:
 

BOD

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Surely the drug will be mainly in the blood and digestive system as it is a quick acting one.

Once circulation has stopped it is unlikely to get much further into the muscles and other parts besides of course the site of the injection

And if you are consuming it yourself surely there is no need to comply with dressing of game regulations intended for the trade in venison.

I often eat game killed and prepared traditionally by indigenous people and do not seem the worst for it and neither do they.

I believe the human constituition is more robust than we often are led to believe -certainly our ancestors seemed to manage.
 

Nigel

Forager
Dec 6, 2003
235
0
Carmarthenshire
Not sure my self how the drug acts once administered but it does seem a hell of a risky practice leaving animals on the side of the road full of poison. Who’s to say that these won’t find there way into the food chain. A lot of dodgy people around these days.
 

Nigel

Forager
Dec 6, 2003
235
0
Carmarthenshire
BOD said:
I often eat game killed and prepared traditionally by indigenous people and do not seem the worst for it and neither do they.

I believe the human constituition is more robust than we often are led to believe -certainly our ancestors seemed to manage.

Bod,

Stupid question but how do they prepare game? Are you talking about strict hygiene methods?

Nigel
 

Doc

Need to contact Admin...
Nov 29, 2003
2,109
10
Perthshire
I'm a doctor, not a vet, but I do know a bit about barbiturate pharmacology.

There are documented instances of secondary poisoning of animals eating carcasses of animals killed by lethal injection.http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/poison.pdf
Barbiturates are lipophilic and may concentrate in certain tissues, such as fat and liver. As they kill by inducing respiratory depression, the heart and circulation may continue for several minutes after the injection. Pentobarbital has been detected in commercial pet food which have been cooked - it is not reliably destroyed by heat.. Barbiturate toxicity is aggravated by alcohol. Like alcohol barbiturates impair performance of fine motor tasks like driving and even a small dose can be dangerous this way.

I guess the chance of the beast having been euthanised by a vet's lethal injection is low, but I would not risk it.

The legal position has already been covered above.

There is also the infection risk. Warm does not necessarily mean recently dead. My compost heap is warm.

I am not an experienced deer stalker - I have just passed DSC1 - and the advice given was to gralloch the beast within 30 minutes of culling where possible. They did not mention a need for suspending the deer to gralloch it. I can see that this might be desirable but also impossible to achieve on the open hill.
 

Silverback

Full Member
Sep 29, 2006
978
15
England
Doc said:
I am not an experienced deer stalker - I have just passed DSC1 - and the advice given was to gralloch the beast within 30 minutes of culling where possible. They did not mention a need for suspending the deer to gralloch it. I can see that this might be desirable but also impossible to achieve on the open hill.
I too was unaware of this requirement having gralloched just about every carcass I have ever shot on the ground however when visiting the St. Hubert's stand at The Midland Game Fair this year I was informed by their Chairman that this is now the case - I would welcome some greater detail from anyone reading this who might be in the know!
 

Woods Wanderer

Need to contact Admin...
Jan 26, 2006
101
0
36
lincolnshire
iv made the assumption it doesnt contain poisen because my dog stole bits wen i wasnt looking and she is fine (phew) i completly gutted the beast strait after i got home didnt want a stomach bomb in the morning,when it comes to preping iv been eating roadkill since i was tiny (thanks for the advice concern) iv eaten things health and safety people would have a fit at somtimes with no or very little prep atall seems like people or me have much stronger stomachs than we thing though iv had a few instances were the people i was with shared my food or drink and 10 mins later been sick, thanks for the advice im not discounting it and i would never put anyone else at risk thanks
 

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