Discharge of weapon/roadkill

[ImportsSuk]

have a question about something i saw on the way to work this morning. the person driving about 5 cars ahead of me clipped a deer, slowed, then drove off. i guess the damage wasn't bad. whatever. anyhow as i get closer i notice the deer on the side of the road flip-flopping all over the place obviously writhing in pain. my question is, if i were to pull over am i "allowed" to shoot the deer to put it out of it's misery? i have my CCW and normally carry everywhere i go except work. i don't know if the police were called to report the deer being hit, so i may have been some time before an officer arrived on the scene to shoot it. i ask because this is a fairly busy road and i'm sure it would have flipped out some passer-by's to see a regular guy pull out a handgun and shoot a deer, prompting them to call the police and report such. if i were to do so, do i need to call 911 and report the deer and that i have shot it? do i then need to wait for the police to arrive? any info would be appreciated. thanks guys. i am in Bucks Co. Pa, BTW.

 

[Iceman II]

I can tell you here in Texas that is a no-no. Do not shoot an animal on the side of the road! You could be filed on for that here, not worth the trouble. Call the injured animal in and let officers handle that no matter how bad the animal is suffering.

 

[SpeedOften]

Does anyone know the answer for the OP's questoin for New Hampshire and NY?

 

[FordSVTFan]

I can tell you here in Texas that is a no-no. Do not shoot an animal on the side of the road! You could be filed on for that here, not worth the trouble. Call the injured animal in and let officers handle that no matter how bad the animal is suffering.

As noted above, the general answer is no you may not "put the animal out of its misery." Simply call the police or animal control.

 

[SID297]

Just from my personal experience, a friend of mine was faced with a similar situation except he beat the deer to death with a rock. It was delicious.

 

[Double"O"]

Call the WCO in your district and ask him or her

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/

 

[Root1022]

Just from my personal experience, a friend of mine was faced with a similar situation except he beat the deer to death with a rock. It was delicious.

I lol'ed! I got a couple funny looks as to why i was chuckling at the computer screen at work...:nono:

 

[cuban]

I believe in wisconsin it is called poaching. only wardens and le can shoot an injured animal. however i have and know many other people that simply take a knife to the throat of the animal. after all free venison is always good.

 

[fiveohpoepoe]

To the op,thats a tough situation for sure.Same here in NC,only leo and wildlife is allowed to shoot an injured animal.BUT,if I was on a dark road[out of jurisdiction] out in the middle of nowehere,it might be different.But bottom line is,you could be charged under city/state and federal laws.

 

[ImportsSuk]

thanks for the replies guys. i figured it would be more hassle than it was worth. i just wasn't sure of the legallity. my area is WAYYYY overcrowded (takes me 30 min or more to drive 8 miles to work) and deer accidents are a dime a dozen. it ashame for the animal to have to suffer though. oh well. don't need that headache

 

[czwalga00gt]

A friend of mine had a similar situation. He called the cops, they arrived and let him shoot the deer then take it home to butcher.

 

[fiveohpoepoe]

A friend of mine had a similar situation. He called the cops, they arrived and let him shoot the deer then take it home to butcher.

If anyone except animal removal or wildlife take wild animal/move it or whatever,they are charged.Even leo.of course we,leo,will pull it off of the hwy/road

 

[czwalga00gt]

If anyone except animal removal or wildlife take wild animal/move it or whatever,they are charged.Even leo.of course we,leo,will pull it off of the hwy/road

It may vary from state to state. This was in a rural part of PA, things are more 'lax' there.

 

[timpryor]

If anyone except animal removal or wildlife take wild animal/move it or whatever,they are charged.Even leo.of course we,leo,will pull it off of the hwy/road

I think that law varies state to state. I have been told that at least in TX if you hit a deer and killed it you could load it up and keep it provided you call it in. Granted that could be an old wives tale I don't know for sure.

 

[TrchRedSVT]

Just from my personal experience, a friend of mine was faced with a similar situation except he beat the deer to death with a rock. It was delicious.

I can see a gun but a rock?

Thats just disgusting.

 

[S.O.B.]

Just from my personal experience, a friend of mine was faced with a similar situation except he beat the deer to death with a rock. It was delicious.

WV boys for ya! lo

 

[Iceman II]

I think that law varies state to state. I have been told that at least in TX if you hit a deer and killed it you could load it up and keep it provided you call it in. Granted that could be an old wives tale I don't know for sure.

Negative, not allowed. Leave the deer alone, not worth the trouble you can get into.
Now, has this happened before? Yes, but it sounds like a little brother in lawing going on here, meaning getting some sort of permission.
Not worth it folks!

 

[tonyGstuhh]

Just from my personal experience, a friend of mine was faced with a similar situation except he beat the deer to death with a rock. It was delicious.

he must have did it for teh lulz

 

[RDJ]

Just from my personal experience, a friend of mine was faced with a similar situation except he beat the deer to death with a rock. It was delicious.

LOL Reminds me of a story from my youth ... My father had a couple friends that were our drinking one night. they were driving home under the influence and hit a deer on the base (vandenburg for those familiar with the Air Force). well they decided that there was no sense in calling the MPs because it would get them in trouble for being intoxicated, and it would be a shame to waste the deer, so they packed it in the trunk and drove to one of their houses.

The guys wife was gone for the night and they decided to butcher this thing in the kitchen. Well they couldn't decide what to do with the guts, couldn't put them in the trash since they had an illegal deer and it would get them in trouble so they decided to run them through the garbage disposal. Needless to say that wasn't such a good idea and they finally called it a night and went to sleep.

Well the little woman comes home in the morning to two passed out drunks in the living room, a partially rendered deer on the table and the walls freshly painted with deer guts. she was not happy ....

To the Op and Speedoften, GENERALLY speaking when it comes to what you can and cannot do with a gun .. Texas trumps them all. If you can't do it in Texas you probably can't do it anywhere else. As has been noted above there are places that are more "LAX" than others (rural Missouri or PA for example) but that does not change what is legal and what is not.

 

[timpryor]

Negative, not allowed. Leave the deer alone, not worth the trouble you can get into.
Now, has this happened before? Yes, but it sounds like a little brother in lawing going on here, meaning getting some sort of permission.
Not worth it folks!

well I stand corrected, nice to know that, though it does seem like a waste especially if the deer is already dead. but laws don't have to make sense do they.

Thanks for the correction.