Would You Leave a Dead Deer at the end of Your Driveway?

[scrapquitler]

The same place where I have live ones in my back yard almost daily.

The county will come get it if you call and if it is close to your residence. Otherwise, its food for the buzzards. Actually it is either way, they just take it down the road and dump it out in the woods or in a field and the buzzards soon follow.

Dh and Dnephew saw a guy hit a small deer in front of the house. Guy stopped. Deer was dead, car would run and he had to get to work so he told them if they wanted the deer they could have it. Some of the best deer meat ever.

Another guy I know, hit a deer on the way home. He put it in his trunk and dressed it out when he got home. Freezer full of meat.

Another saw an 18-wheeler hit a deer and he stopped and got the deer.

Now, that doesn't mean any of them would just pick up a deer that they came up on dead in the road.

I have family members who are hunters and they tell me that if you hit a deer with your car it's fair game (ok, bad pun) and you can keep it and do whatever they do with it to harvest the meat. So I suppose that if you see one get hit, or know that it was recently hit, it's pretty much the same thing.

Same family members have told us that if we ever hit one, call them right away and stay there until they come to get the deer. The time we did hit one, it bounced off the car and ran into the woods, where it presumably died, but we didn't see where it went, so they lost out on that meat.

I could totally see having one end up in my driveway or near my house in the road, they are in my yard ALL the time. I personally would never move it because I have heard a lot of stories of them getting hit and LOOKING dead and then as soon as someone went to move it, it startled and got up and moved...startling something that big and being in the wrong place can get you hurt! And even if I was sure it was dead, those suckers are REALLY HEAVY.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I have family members who are hunters and they tell me that if you hit a deer with your car it's fair game (ok, bad pun) and you can keep it and do whatever they do with it to harvest the meat. So I suppose that if you see one get hit, or know that it was recently hit, it's pretty much the same thing.

Same family members have told us that if we ever hit one, call them right away and stay there until they come to get the deer. The time we did hit one, it bounced off the car and ran into the woods, where it presumably died, but we didn't see where it went, so they lost out on that meat.

I could totally see having one end up in my driveway or near my house in the road, they are in my yard ALL the time. I personally would never move it because I have heard a lot of stories of them getting hit and LOOKING dead and then as soon as someone went to move it, it startled and got up and moved...startling something that big and being in the wrong place can get you hurt! And even if I was sure it was dead, those suckers are REALLY HEAVY.

Here, you have to get a special tag from Dept of Conservation before you can keep it. Or, if its during hunting season, you can just use your hunting tag. I saw a couple hit a deer and they flagged me down to help dispatch it as it hasn't died. A bow hunter came along and offered to put it on his tag. The girl in the car was so thankful it wasn't going to waste.

A guy who was hunting with me got knocked goofy by a "dead" deer he'd shot. We never did recover that deer or even find any blood.

 

[bcla]

Here, you have to get a special tag from Dept of Conservation before you can keep it. Or, if its during hunting season, you can just use your hunting tag. I saw a couple hit a deer and they flagged me down to help dispatch it as it hasn't died. A bow hunter came along and offered to put it on his tag. The girl in the car was so thankful it wasn't going to waste.

A guy who was hunting with me got knocked goofy by a "dead" deer he'd shot. We never did recover that deer or even find any blood.

Not possible in California. Here's various Q&As from the California Dept of Fish & Wildlife:

http://californiaoutdoorsqas.com/tag/roadkill/

Roadkill is not food!
Question:A friend recently hit a deer, causing about $1,200 damage to the vehicle. He picked up the deer and put it in his truck to take home for food. He was stopped by a sheriff’s deputy who told him to take the deer out of his vehicle or he would be cited. I heard that it is legal to pick up “roadkill.” Can you please clarify this? (Sandy B.)

Answer: The officer was correct. It is illegal to pick up roadkill wildlife in California. No one may possess wildlife in any form unless the animal was legally taken by a licensed hunter during the hunting season for that species and while using approved harvest methods. Given this, even if the first criteria were true (your friend was a licensed hunter), motor vehicles are not a legal method of take. The next time your friend sees an animal killed on the roadway, he should not attempt to retrieve it for any purpose.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/research_permit/scp/salvg_issues.html

Animal Specimen Salvage Issues

No one, even a holder of a Scientific Collecting Permit (SCP), can pick up road kills, native bird feathers, or collect owl pellets or other animal parts without a SCP authorizating the salvage of dead amphibians, reptiles, birds, and/or mammals.

If you salvage any Standard Exception species, you must contact the Department at (916) 653 - 4875 within two business days. The telephone number also is given on the back of the permit in the text of authorization 10. The disposition of the specimen(s) is at the discretion of the Department.

Salvaged specimens should be deposited in a public scientific or educational institution. In general, if open to the public, a depository doesn't need to have a permit to possess the specimens. However, we suggest that each specimen received is accompanied by documentation of legal take.

http://californiaoutdoorsqas.com/2008/12/04/bagging-roadkill/

Question: I have a couple of questions regarding deer killed on roadways. First of all, if a deer is accidentally hit and killed on a roadway, can it be collected and utilized so as not to go to waste? Secondly, if I have a valid California hunting license and deer tag, and while coming back after dark from a day of hunting, if I accidentally hit and kill a deer on one of the backroads, how is that handled? Do I wait until morning and shoot it, or is that considered a “bag?” What are the laws pertaining to animals accidentally killed on the highways? (James M.)

Answer: Road-killed wildlife may not be retained by the driver of the vehicle that hits the animal, nor anyone else associated with the accident or not. Only authorized personnel of state and/or local agencies are permitted to dispatch and remove injured or dead animals.

In regard to your second question, even if the driver of the vehicle is a licensed California hunter who has the appropriate tags to take the deer that is accidentally hit by their car, that hunter cannot legally tag that deer and take it home. Deer may only be taken with rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers, muzzleloaders and archery equipment. Motor vehicles are not included in this list of legal methods of take.

Although Fish and Game Code section 2000.5(a) states the accidental taking of game by a motor vehicle is not a violation of the law, it does not authorize the possession of animals taken by a collision with a vehicle. You may wonder why this is the case since it seems like it would be a waste of a deer to not be able to place a tag on it and perhaps save another from being taken. The reason is that some poachers would use the “collision” excuse to take deer at night with their vehicle and just attach their tag to justify the action.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Not possible in California. Here's various Q&As from the California Dept of Fish & Wildlife:

May seem wasteful on the surface, but the laws are in place to prevent poaching. Incidentally, I did know one goofy fellow that tried to hit a "deer" on purpose for meat. Turned out to be a 400+ pound sow. Pretty much totaled his truck

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

May seem wasteful on the surface, but the laws are in place to prevent poaching. Incidentally, I did know one goofy fellow that tried to hit a "deer" on purpose for meat. Turned out to be a 400+ pound sow. Pretty much totaled his truck

Bet he was surprised! Even if you've got a cow catcher on the front of your truck though, a full grown deer is going to cause some damage, and you've got to hit it dead on to kill it on impact anyway, I hit one once, but not going fast, and just on the corner of my tail light, and I swear the darn thing stopped, gave me an incredibly insulted deer look, and sauntered on across the road, didn't even do me the courtesy of limping after he tore up my driver side corner!

 

[JRawkSteady]

When I used to live in Long Island, a stray dog killed a deer right in front of our house to the side of our driveway at 2AM. We called the local animal control and they picked it up in the morning. There is no way I'm trying to move a dead deer by myself.

 

[KristenCarll]

Here in Maine if you hit a deer you take that sucker home and eat it. Or if you see someone hit one, you pull over to make sure the person is ok of course, but most people are stopping because they want the deer. My husband is a hunter and if either of us hit a deer, it would be in our freezer.

Now if we didn't know how long it had been there, we would drag it in the woods for the coyotes to eat.

 

[KristenCarll]

Oh and I should mention the deer would have to be tagged my the cops first before you can take it.

 

[bcla]

May seem wasteful on the surface, but the laws are in place to prevent poaching. Incidentally, I did know one goofy fellow that tried to hit a "deer" on purpose for meat. Turned out to be a 400+ pound sow. Pretty much totaled his truck

I missed hitting a deer on a freeway once. It was just standing on the next lane over and I was just thinking don't let me hit it, since my wife's car wasn't likely to survive that kind of impact at 65 MPH. The deer didn't move, and "caught in the headlights" would seem to be a correct description of what happened. On the other hand, the full sized pickup truck on the right and just behind me didn't miss the deer. Or at least that's what I assumed. It was behind us, but we heard a sound like a cannon shot. Later we saw the pickup truck, which was still running, but its front bumper was hanging at a strange angle. My wife was like "the deer is OK, right?" I mean - a 5000 lb pickup truck just hit it at 65 MPH and you think it made it out alive?

I do remember Atari used to have a racing game called San Francisco Rush. One of the features they had were deer on the roadway. And yes they could be hit. They sort of exploded into multiple pieces and disintegrated.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Bet he was surprised! Even if you've got a cow catcher on the front of your truck though, a full grown deer is going to cause some damage, and you've got to hit it dead on to kill it on impact anyway, I hit one once, but not going fast, and just on the corner of my tail light, and I swear the darn thing stopped, gave me an incredibly insulted deer look, and sauntered on across the road, didn't even do me the courtesy of limping after he tore up my driver side corner!

Yeah, he wasn't right in the head - probably drunk too

 

[Handbag Lady]

If something like that happened here, it would be on the news.

We don't get much deer in the city.

Even our bears are famous, Google Meatball the Bear.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

If something like that happened here, it would be on the news.

We don't get much deer in the city.

Even our bears are famous, Google Meatball the Bear.

Even in the sticks, a bear is big news here. Only supposed to be ~300 in the whole state, and there used to be a lot less. I've only ever seen one here and that was newly 30 years ago.

Mt Lions are big news as we're not "supposed" to have any of those, ditto wolves (1 killed in this state recently).

 

[Deb in IA]

Where on earth do you people live where:

- a dead deer might end up in your driveway

-if it does, the state/town/city/county won't take it away

- you know people that would eat such a dead deer

Clearly, you are a city slicker .

1) deer run through my yard, yard ends at state highway. Honestly, I'm surprised I don't see them dead in my yard continuously.

2) in a state with ~1.2 million deer, there are dead ones everywhere. There are at least 3 on my morning commute right now.

3) deer hit by a car taste just like those hit by a bullet or an arrow. There's always some meat loss. Mind you, it would take a desperate person to snack on a deer found dead that could have been there "who knows how long?". OTOH, one you hit or witness being hit? Sure, why not? Lean, completely organic protein

Same here for Iowa.

1. We have had dead deer in our front yard, on the road by our house, in the woods behind our house. We watched for several weeks as a pair of bald eagles survived a winter feeding on the carcass.

2. Deer population in 2010 was about 500,000.
Human population in Iowa in 2010 was about 3,000,000.

So, about 1 deer for every 6 people.
Here in Iowa, I have seen the DNR haul away deer carcasses from the side of the road.

3. If it is freshly killed, and appropriately dressed and butchered, there should be no problem. Venison is delicious - lean and tender. Here in Iowa, it is essentially "grain-fed", just like the sirloin you buy at the meat counter. Not "gamey" at all.

That said, I would not eat something that has been on the side of the road for several days, though.

Oh my dog would be going crazy. she loves deer meat, deer blood.

I literately have to bark commands at her to calm down.

Our last dog came wandering into the yard with a deer leg from I don't know where. She was covered in fleas

Our chocolate lab loves to go foraging in our woods - the same ones that typically have several deer carcasses each winter. He has come trotting back, happily carrying a dis-articulated leg in his mouth, with the lower leg swinging back and forth from the knee. He has also brought back a complete spinal column. Our DD took one look at it and said, "I hope it was a deer and not human".

 

[bcla]

Even in the sticks, a bear is big news here. Only supposed to be ~300 in the whole state, and there used to be a lot less. I've only ever seen one here and that was newly 30 years ago.

Mt Lions are big news as we're not "supposed" to have any of those, ditto wolves (1 killed in this state recently).

Around California, it depends on where. It was big news a few years ago when a black bear apparently wandered into Marin County. One had been seen a few years earlier too.

http://www.marinij.com/ci_16671083

However, there are places where bears are commonly seen - especially around Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada range. I'm heading to Yosemite this summer, and I've seen plenty in my last few visits.

There's even issues with bears in suburban parts of Los Angeles County near Angeles National Forest. Bears wander into parts of Duarte or Pasadena. It's gotten serious enough in Duarte that most residents are required to use bear resistant trash cans.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/30/local/la-me-duarte-bears30-2010jan30

 

[bcla]

Clearly, you are a city slicker .

1. We have had dead deer in our front yard, on the road by our house, in the woods behind our house. We watched for several weeks as a pair of bald eagles survived a winter feeding on the carcass.

I've never seen a dead deer near where I live, but I could easily imagine it happening. I've had near misses and have heard of a few that expired one way or another. My mom told me of the deer that died in her back yard. The county said they didn't have the resources to do it and she had to hire a private company licensed to dispose of animal carcasses. And we live very close to several urban centers like Oakland and San Francisco. The deer certainly don't care about how close they are to downtown as long as they have decent cover from predators and adequate food supplies. I also remember moving in to a new house and my wife thought it would be a good idea to plant petunias. We didn't actually get to planting them but put them in the original pot to see how they might look in a particular spot. We went out for a couple of hours and by the time we got back they were gone. I talked to a neighbor, who said that petunias are like candy to deer.

That's nothing compared to the wild turkeys.

I have seen dead deer before, but not around my area. I remember being on a desert road in Utah, and it kind of surprised me that there was this deer that looked like it had been smashed into two pieces. There were some forests around the area, but it had apparently wandered into an area with nothing but roads and scrub brush. While there was this dead deer, that's probably nothing compared to the sheer number of rabbits we saw that were in various states of roadkill-ness.