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

[Colleen27]

Aren't we still supposed to report dead deer to DNR in Michigan? I know they used to track, as recently as a couple of years ago, to identify potential outbreaks and monitor the deer population. At our place up north the local wildlife office sent someone out the last time we had a dead deer on the property. We weren't there long enough for me to know what he did with the carcass and up there (near Baldwin) the wildlife would take care of it soon enough without human intervention but they did want an official report.

 

[Deb in IA]

Maybe you should report them.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

So any animal hit by a car and in the road or at the side of the road, just sits there forever? I'm betting there is a department paid by taxes that deals with the carrion on the roadside and you just aren't aware of it.

Depends on WHERE. If it is within the city limits or major HWY they will pick up the deer. Any other animal and it just gets run over and over.

Not fun when it is a skunk. I unfortunately ran over a dead skunk last week and the smell was on my car for the day.

I live in the "county" and there is no service for deer removal. Generally the coyotes and birds take care of it.

We have deer hit all the time out here. They are all over the place like the OP in MI.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I wouldn't touch it. I'd be calling to see what county agency gets rid of them.

Ditto.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Depends on WHERE. If it is within the city limits or major HWY they will pick up the deer. Any other animal and it just gets run over and over.

Not fun when it is a skunk. I unfortunately ran over a dead skunk last week and the smell was on my car for the day.

I live in the "county" and there is no service for deer removal. Generally the coyotes and birds take care of it.

We have deer hit all the time out here. They are all over the place like the OP in MI.

Don't forget the work the opossums do! Of course, by the time the deer is cleaned up, there are usually 3 or 4 dead opossums there too

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Don't forget the work the opossums do! Of course, by the time the deer is cleaned up, there are usually 3 or 4 dead opossums there too

I know right?

Living out here is like playing a daily game of "Roadkill Dodger".

 

[Micca]

No, but I'd pick up a buck from the sidewalk.

 

[bcla]

I remember a deer died in my parents' back yard. Much of the San Francisco Bay Area is wooded suburban areas with lots of deer and the occasional mountain lion.

Even though she lives in a city, that city doesn't have its own animal control department. That's purely a county service in our county.

A few nearby cities have their own animal control. The other city contracts with that department.

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/animalservices/

The City of Berkeley’s Animal Care Services (BACS) is a division of the Office of the City Manager. We provide a wide range of services to our cities’ residents and their pets.We provide field services, seven days a week, to the cities of Berkeley and Albany. These services include the enforcement of city ordinances related to animals, removal of killed or injured wildlife, impoundment of stray pets, and investigation of animal-related neglect, cruelty, nuisance and bite cases.

I remember there was some controversy a few years ago when Oakland PD shot a deer. However, they do have a request form to remove dead animals from public right of ways. It's $62 if it's on private property, and they won't do it if it's under a home or deck.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=ckkyWXpqWnd3UFJUZGRyMlRKTFoxdEE6MA

If you have a dead animal that needs to be picked up, please complete the following form completely and follow the directions carefully. We pick up domestic animals and wildlife on private property for a fee. If the animal is on private property, you must come into the Shelter during OPEN hours and pre-pay for the pick up. The cost is $62 and may be more if the animal is large and requires more than one person to pick up. Please note that we will not pick up dead animals on private property that are under homes, decks or down ledges. If the animal is on public property, complete this form. If the animal has not been picked up within three days, please complete this form again and we will re-prioritize the call. If you do not include your contact information then we may not be able to pick up the animal. We are experiencing a severe staffing shortage and a high volume of calls so the response time may be longer than expected. If it is a small animal, you may want to consider placing the deceased animal in a plastic bag and discarding it or bringing it to the Shelter. Thank you.

 

[cabanafrau]

Aren't we still supposed to report dead deer to DNR in Michigan? I know they used to track, as recently as a couple of years ago, to identify potential outbreaks and monitor the deer population. At our place up north the local wildlife office sent someone out the last time we had a dead deer on the property. We weren't there long enough for me to know what he did with the carcass and up there (near Baldwin) the wildlife would take care of it soon enough without human intervention but they did want an official report.

Yes. A friend's son drove up on one that had just been hit by a car last fall during bow season. It was apparent that it had only just happened. He handled the situation, then called for an officer to come so he could get a tag and take the deer. He had it processed along with the deer his gf had taken with the bow on her first hunting trip.

 

[yoopermom]

We have a lovely small zoo about five miles down the road from us that houses a large number of carnivores, and they have a permit to gather roadkill deer to feed to their critters. Circle of life and all that!

And I'll stick up for the PP who does the raw diet for her dog. I don't have the patience (heck, I hardly cook for my human family), but know many people who feed their dogs this way, and it's considered very healthy for them.

Terri

 

[TLSnell1981]

I know many people who've kept road killed deer to eat themselves - not one that had been laying around awhile though

Not me..I don't eat or cook deer meat, but it wouldn't have last 10 minutes around here.

 

[clh2]

Up here, a dead deer on a roadside would be removed by highway maintenance crews. Or maybe it is the responsibility of wildlife management. Not sure. But if it's on a road, it will get cleaned up sooner rather than later.

Maybe they called the county (I'm assuming you're not in a city) and found out that it would be removed if they left it there?

Our village maintenance crews handle this as well. It would get marked with a spray painted orange "x", to indicate that it had been called in to the village, and at some point, it would disappear.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We would call to have it taken away. What they do with it is up to them. I know sometimes a freshly killed deer might be donated for food. Short of a necropsy, though, one laying around might not fit the bill.

Oh, and we have no woods out back to drag it to. Just our yard. Ours is fenced, but I wouldn't want coyotes eating something in my yard, then coming back for more!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

RAW diet = potentially unhealthy for HUMANS and is not recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Pa...imal-Source-Protein-in-Cat-and-Dog-Diets.aspx

The FDC also recommends against it

http://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/resourcesforyou/animalhealthliteracy/ucm373757.htm

As does the CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/resources/pet-food-tips_8x11_508.pdf

Not going to argue about it, just mentioning it as an fyi. EColi illness is not something a human (or dog) wants to mess with. One can die from it.

 

[NFLDERS]

I have a friend in Pennsylvania and this happens to her every few years, dead deer along the road in front of her property . It's illegal for her to touch it. You have to call fish and game, and she says they can take days to come remove it. But she doesn't want to get arrested for poaching so she has to leave it.

Same here in Niagara, Ontario.

 

[North of Mouse]

Yesterday on my way home from town I noticed a dead animal at the end of someone's driveway. At first I thought it must be a dog but as I went by I saw it was actually a deer. Right at the edge of their driveway, at the end of it and by the road. I wondered why they wouldn't remove it. It was out in the country, with woods behind their house and a ditch and woods across from their house as well. Now I could see, closer to town where there are no woods there might not be much you could do, but if it was me I would want to put gloves on and pull it out of my driveway and take it back to the woods. I wouldn't want it decaying in my driveway.

Where I live, we would just call the County and they come by and pick them up. I would not be removing it myself! Too icky!

 

[MIGrandma]

Aren't we still supposed to report dead deer to DNR in Michigan? I know they used to track, as recently as a couple of years ago, to identify potential outbreaks and monitor the deer population. At our place up north the local wildlife office sent someone out the last time we had a dead deer on the property. We weren't there long enough for me to know what he did with the carcass and up there (near Baldwin) the wildlife would take care of it soon enough without human intervention but they did want an official report.

Yes, I think you're supposed to call if you hit a deer with your vehicle, especially if there is damage to your vehicle. DH and I hit a deer last week with his truck. Minimal damage to the truck, but he did call the police and they came to make a report. DH was carrying (like he almost always does) and I wanted him to shoot the poor thing as the hit didn't kill it outright but he said he thought that was against the law. He did ask the cop about it, and the cop confirmed that no, he couldn't have shot it himself even to put it out of its misery. I felt so bad for the deer. It must have broken its leg or hip. But the cop did shoot it, so I was grateful for that.

Where I live, we would just call the County and they come by and pick them up. I would not be removing it myself! Too icky!

I don't believe we have any type of service that picks up dead animals here. Roadkill (deer, raccoons, opossums, etc.) stays on the road until they are eaten by other birds/animals. We see dead animals on the roads all the time. I just wouldn't want one at the end of my driveway.

 

[bcla]

We would call to have it taken away. What they do with it is up to them. I know sometimes a freshly killed deer might be donated for food. Short of a necropsy, though, one laying around might not fit the bill.

Oh, and we have no woods out back to drag it to. Just our yard. Ours is fenced, but I wouldn't want coyotes eating something in my yard, then coming back for more!

Like I said - in California it's a patchwork depending on local ordinances. Here's what the City of San Jose, CA says (includes info on nearby cities):

https://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=3037

Streets in San Jose - San Jose Animal Care & Services
Streets in Milpitas, Saratoga, Cupertino and Los Gatos - San Jose Animal Care & Services
Local expressways - Santa Clara County Animal Control
Local freeways - Cal-Trans
Streets in Campbell, Monte Sereno and Santa Clara - Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority
Streets in Sunnyvale - Sunnyvale Animal Control

So around Santa Clara County, there are cities that contract with the city of San Jose, cities that formed a joint animal control district, another city that has its own animal control, and the county that handles all unincorporated areas and expressways (which are county roads). Then Caltrans handles removal on any interstate/state/US highway.

 

[EMom]

Don't any of you have vultures? Around here, the vultures feast on deer and after 4 days or so, a full grown deer is just a skeleton. Yeah, vultures are creepy, but they provide a service.

 

[phorsenuf]

I know I wouldn't be able to move it on my own so I guess it would stay there until the animals took it or a work crew.