What would you do if you came upon a wounded deer?

[grandslamer]

definatly put it down but then id contact f&w

 

[roadwarrior]

If I had the proper tag, I would shoot it. If not, I would call the autorities and ask for instructions.

 

[2fat2fly]

Depends on where and how badly the animal is wounded, but I'd likely put the animal down and walk away. Morally, I couldn't watch a gut-shot animal suffer knowing the animal will die. I've seen a deer on the side of the road that was hit, but not downed by the vehicle. The deer had an eye haging out, and was just standing there in shock. Why leave an animal in that condition?

Broken or wounded leg, probably leave him go on his own or contact the CO.

 

[Mumptia]

Morally, I couldn't watch a gut-shot animal suffer knowing the animal will die.

Our morals should only be a factor in this decision if we are the reason for the animal being in that state.

I have a legal and moral obligation to find an animal that I wounded via hunting but not if I wasn't the cause of its suffering.

Seeing an animal in rough shape yanks on our emotional strings (as it should if you have any compassion at all) but it is such a small representation of the rawness of nature that we shouldn't meddle in.

Gatehouse had a good post; basically the animal has to be on its last legs before he'll even consider it

The seal hunt was shut down years ago because of prominent people thinking that it was their "moral obligation" to stop the killing of those cute and loveable artic creatures

The reality of it is that they f**ked up an entire culture of fishing because the little beggars eat their weight in fish a day so the fisherman was shut down and the boats moored up.

The natural order of the fittest is just that. The weak don't make it and the strong propegate the species.

The balance will take care of itself.

Mix those thoughts with the possiblity of losing my tag becuase another hunter was a bad shot and I put it down beacuse it was the right thing to do results in a resounding "let it be" from my camp

 

[joe-nwt]

Good post, Mumptia!

 

[catnthehatt]

The buck I shot last spring was taken upriver and dumped on the bank, BTW.
i didn't want to leave it on the bar of the island because there were several does with fawns there.
The deer was gone two days later, dragged into the bush by a bear......
Cat

 

[woodchopper]

I've hit several with my truck over the years working in the bush, and a few more recently just traveling up to the lake. I always stop and check, some run off others are dead, and the ones too smashed up to move get dispatched. If they can get up and run away then they have a fair chance, not a great chance, and may end up as coyote food anyways.

Seems that I hit most of them on the back roads or at night, and out of season

 

[Mumptia]

The buck I shot last spring was taken upriver and ddumped on the bank, BTW.
i didn't weant to leave it onn the bar of thee island because there were several does with fawns there.
The deer was gone two days later, dragged into the bush by a bear......
Cat

What's the matter Cat? You're studdering more than usual today

 

[catnthehatt]

What's the matter Cat? You're studdering more than usual today

Mouthfull of venison!
There are days that I wonder how I can hit anything with a shotgun let alone a rifle,seeing's how i ahve to look 5 times to see if i made a mistake!
cAT

 

[hannibal]

This is one of the better posts I've read. I voted shoot and tag, however I can honestly say if the animal looked healthy, as per some of your stories I'd let nature run it's course. I believe though, that if the animal was obviously wounded by human intervention, car, hunting, wire fence, then we have a moral obligation to dispatch the animal and contact the CO, if the animal is simply wounded and getting by well, then that's when the judgment call is made. I would assume that (though I know it's not so) that hunters are ethical enough to make only "good" shots, with rifles they practice with, at animals they can legally hunt. I pass on "bad" shots, I go to the range once every 6-8 weeks and I put at least a box of ammo through my hunting rifles before I go out, I expect the same from everyone else.

 

[Pintail]

I am not in favour of watching animals suffer, esp. from human err. HOWEVER, wild animals are very adaptable and can recover from some pretty horrific trauma. I would take the animal if it was a life-threatening injury, and tag it of course.

 

[John Y Cannuck]

I'll use my tag. There are lots more in camp to continue hunting.

 

[Mumptia]

I'll use my tag. There are lots more in camp to continue hunting.

Nobel John Y, but to what end do you sacrifice your tag and your gear cost and your time scouting and your trip planning and the reloading time and, and , and....... for something you are not responsible for?

For the record, in the right situation (meaning lowest probablity I'd get caught or questioned) I'd put as much vitamen L in the animal that was needed to dispatch.

 

[Mumptia]

Mouthfull of venison!
There are days that I wonder how I can hit anything with a shotgun let alone a rifle,seeing's how i ahve to look 5 times to see if i made a mistake!
cAT

Ha,HA

Lot's of big trees to practise on in Little Newfounland

 

[John Y Cannuck]

Nobel John Y, but to what end do you sacrifice your tag and your gear cost and your time scouting and your trip planning and the reloading time and, and , and....... for something you are not responsible for?

For the record, in the right situation (meaning lowest probablity I'd get caught or questioned) I'd put as much vitamen L in the animal that was needed to dispatch.

Not sacrificing much, you see we are allowed to party hunt in Ontario, I can use an un used tag from any other hunter in the party I am hunting with to continue to hunt, as they could use mine.
With twelve or more in the camp, and a camp history of never using up all the tags, why not?

 

[dpopl8r]

Had that happen to me where I came across a cow elk missing a front leg. The injury seemed old and healed, but not an easy life. I couldn't shoot it, largely based on not having a tag in a hard to draw LEH area, and not wanting to test the legal implications. It still bothers me to this day.

 

[timglayn]

Wounded Deer

I was out crow hunting (with my wife!!!) and we saw a wounded deer with the hide missing on one side about 1.5 feet long and about half a foot high (think it was hit by a car). My first thought was it was marked by rangers after drugging or tagging.
It was only about 75 yards away and didn't run off right away. It didn't look hurt from it's walking but strangely meandered across the edge of the field and ducked into the woods. I had the 223 WSSM and could have nailed him in the head or neck quite easily but being sooooo far out of season and not limping per say, watched him leave.

I've questioned myself a number of times since. It was a horrible sight! Bright pink flesh looks very odd this time of the year!

I followed up with a few Coyote calls in case there was a coyote tracking it. Would have made for a good ending of the story though eh!!?

Tim

PS I would by principle, relieve ANY suffering animal if I believed it was mortally injured!

 

[PSE]

It's a very unfortunate perdicament to be in. Out here you are usually only drawn for one tag per area - that's it. So to sacrifice your tag to make good on someone elses f___up is not good. There is a big possibility of having infected bad meat as a result. I would much rather shoot a healthy animal and know the meat is sound than shoot a badly injured animal thats been wandering around in the bush for days maybe weeks. I just wouldn't feel good butchering such an animal and feeding it to my friends and family.
It's unfortunate there seems to be no provision in the Fish and Wildlife act to just put the poor creature out of its misery and continue hunting.

 

[John Y Cannuck]

The ministry here responds, "let nature take it's course" to most requests about stuff like this.
Why?
Too easy to shoot something in the leg, after you kill it, and claim it was wounded when you shot it.

 

[atr]

I got into a lot of trouble about 15 years ago when i dispatched a deer that had been hit by a truck . It was a smashed up bag of bones and jello but still alive and suffering . I shot it but didn't tag it and there is one freaking house on that stretch of highway and they reported me . I'd never do it again . I hate to see an animal suffer but i suffered just about as much as the deer did .