Mercy Kills - Legality?

[Drswoll69]

Spinning off the other Mercy Kill thread…


At what point is it legal or illegal to ‘mercy kill’?

If your ever unsure on something, call your local game warden to be safe .

 

[WCB]

I've called in 4 hit by cars. Strange thing....none of the 4 were called in prior and none of the vehicles were there. Had to pull two of them off the road because it was late at night and in bad spots. Local PDs of the various areas were there within 15-20minutes and didn't mess around. Jumped out checked surroundings and shot them with buck shot through the lungs.

I have killed two deer in BFE in 2 different states. terrible to no cell service. One hit by a car (again no one there) and one with both legs broken hung up in a fence. Didn't call them in.

Also, took care of a cow (beef) that fell off a cut bank and broke its back. She was laying in a creek barely able to keep her head out of the water. Quick knife work and done deal. No idea how someone would be able to walk away from the deer or the cow because of some print in a book.

 

[Rich M]

No idea how someone would be able to walk away from the deer or the cow because of some print in a book.

I'm not likely to let a critter suffer, just depends on the situation. Is some guy glassing 2 miles away gonna call me in for putting down the doe without the jaw and walking away? That's the question.

And is he gonna justify calling cause I didn't jump thru 8 hrs worth of hoops to put her down? That I'd drop it and just keep on hunting is so wrong in his mind.

That's one thing I see as wrong with the hunting game - everyone is so worried about what everyone else is doing. Folks can't give anyone the benefit of the doubt, and instead have F&G/GW on speed dial, ready to save the world from all the bad people - of which everyone else falls into that category.

That's why.

 

[KenLee]

I once passed a doe that was hit by a car on my way to work. It was in the middle of a busy highway and obviously paralyzed. I called both DNR and sheriff to see if I could put it out of it's misery before the morning traffic picked up (I'm certain someone would've called me in had I done it without permission). I was told NO by both. Felt pretty bad for that deer.

I've had 2 wardens over the years try to pull this junk and threaten to ticket me.
Told them to imagine what the Jury thinks of him while he's trying to prosecute that ticket in Court. Both went away.

 

[TheCougar]

There's a difference between ethics and morals. Faced with no alternatives, I'll go with my morals rather than ethics. Sometimes, those choices come with consequences.

At the risk of editorializing, every year the difference between ethics and morals continues to grow. And it's not my morals that are the ones doing the changing.

 

[akcabin]

Mother Nature can be cruel to it's own. I don't believe that folks should be killing any animals unless they plan on using their harvest ticket on it. I don't believe that game wardens need or want the public deciding what is a mercy kill. And very sure you would get a ticket in ak

 

[TSAMP]

Slightly off topic, but speaks to the legality point of the post.

Last night I was sitting in the grass gun hunting here in Iowa. I was looking over a rather odd shaped pond (if you know, you know).
My garmin told me sunset was 4 42 but I had plenty of daylight. I sat a few more minutes and got up and walked out. I heard no less than 5 shots in the distance on my walk. I got to the truck by 5pm still hearing shots, and still having enough light to shoot in a field.

Gun ends at sunset here, or so thought.Not a half hour after like with archery. Technically those shots were illegal. I'm not calling it in. I guess I'm an accessory now. I try to operate under the assumption the person in the moment knows more than I do about a given situation, and they can decide what's right and wrong. This goes for a wounded mercy kill as well.

-internet expert

Edited to update deer gun is half an hour after sunset. Turkey is not

 

[WCT3]

Took me 8 hours to finally give a mercy kill in WI a couple years ago.

My bird dog pointed a nice 10pt while out looking for roosters with a buddy one morning and we found a bedded buck that couldn't get up with an arrow through the guts. The poor thing was all emaciated and had been there for a while. Seeing as how I hunt that area frequently, I didn't want to dispatch with my shotgun and had left my knife at home. Took me 8 hours of being passed back and forth from DNR to County Sheriff to get in touch with the warden who told me we could only intervene if we had a tag for the animal and took it via a legal weapon for the season. So I tracked down a buddy to buy a bow tag and we hiked back out to dispatch him. Tried to salvage meat but it was all ruined and he had already lost a lot of muscle mass.

Sad deal that is way too overcomplicated. Probably that way because some a**hat used the excuse or abused it in a nefarious manner. If I didn't hunt that area frequently, I probably would've just taken care of him on the spot but I didn't want any potential headaches.

That's surprising, I've had the opposite experience in WI. We found a buck behaving strangely, not scared of humans in the middle of opening day of rifle season. This was a high CWD area so we called the DNR and they told us to shoot it and leave it. They came out a day or two later and picked it up, tested positive for CWD. This was also on private, not sure if that makes any difference.

 

[mt terry d]

If something needs mercy killing and I'm the one in place to do it then it's a moral issue before it's a "legal" issue. Morality trumps legality.

 

[KsRancher]

I appear to be the odd one out. No way am I risking getting my gun confiscated, fines, court cost and loss of hunting privileges over something like this. It sucks, but is what it is for me.

 

[Dos Perros]

I agree with those purporting the prioritization of morals. I would just add that when you make the decision to be moral you also are taking responsibility for the consequences. You should have no issue standing before a judge and owning what you did and why you did it.

 

[rileybassman]

I appear to be the odd one out. No way am I risking getting my gun confiscated, fines, court cost and loss of hunting privileges over something like this. It sucks, but is what it is for me.

I agree - 2 years now I have used my antelope B tag on "mercy kills" in that my last 2 B tags were used to dispatch (and take the meat) from wounded does. This was done legally within the scope of my tags. This is as far as I can or will take it.

Morally I would prefer to put down a wounded animal, but not at the expense of all that you listed. Ethics aren't always consistent and can take weird turns which is why laws are there... are those "ethics" only in season? What animals do they apply to? What about people?

People's ethics aren't always uniform and that's a tough judgement call. To me, ethically is reporting it, or using the tag I have.

 

[WCT3]

I was hunting with my girlfriends step dad, who I found out is not a very ethical hunter (this was the only time I've hunted with him). He wounded a buck hitting it in the rear quarter crippling it pretty bad but he was still able to walk. We moved in to try to push the buck to him to finish it but instead it came towards me so I shot it even though I only had an elk tag. He tagged it with his deer tag and that was pretty much then end of it except I still have to listen to him talk about the forky "he killed" while we were hunting together.

I asked a CPW officer about this later and he said it's illegal but I was unlikely to get in trouble given the situation. I know the legal risk but I would do the same thing again in the same situation.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Took me 8 hours to finally give a mercy kill in WI a couple years ago.

My bird dog pointed a nice 10pt while out looking for roosters with a buddy one morning and we found a bedded buck that couldn't get up with an arrow through the guts. The poor thing was all emaciated and had been there for a while. Seeing as how I hunt that area frequently, I didn't want to dispatch with my shotgun and had left my knife at home. Took me 8 hours of being passed back and forth from DNR to County Sheriff to get in touch with the warden who told me we could only intervene if we had a tag for the animal and took it via a legal weapon for the season. So I tracked down a buddy to buy a bow tag and we hiked back out to dispatch him. Tried to salvage meat but it was all ruined and he had already lost a lot of muscle mass.

Sad deal that is way too overcomplicated. Probably that way because some a**hat used the excuse or abused it in a nefarious manner. If I didn't hunt that area frequently, I probably would've just taken care of him on the spot but I didn't want any potential headaches.

Had a similar experience a few years ago on a very nice buck. He had no obvious signs of injury, and we suspected he had been hit by a car or broke his back fighting with another buck.

We called the Sherriff's office and asked if we could put him out of his misery and they said no. Said that they were closer than the nearest game warden and we must wait until he arrived. Around an hour later, he got to the farm, and we took him out to the buck. He shot it point blank with his .40 cal sidearm at point blank range through the lungs and began writing a salvage tag. A few minutes later, the deer was still very much alive, and he shot it twice more through the lungs at PBR. The deer kicked for a few more minutes and finally let out one long last breath.

The whole thing was extremely tough to watch, and the amount of unnecessary suffering was sad. He finished writing the salvage tag and we gutted and took the buck home. I don't know what kind of ammo the Sherriff's office was issued at that time, but none of the rounds expanded on the buck, and he had 3 caliber sized entry/exit wounds.

 

[Dos Perros]

Something of note: there is a precedent for cell phone companies aiding poaching investigations by giving law enforcement lists of folks who were active in an area during a certain period of time. Your private activities are not private.

 

[Laramie]

That's one thing I see as wrong with the hunting game - everyone is so worried about what everyone else is doing. Folks can't give anyone the benefit of the doubt, and instead have F&G/GW on speed dial, ready to save the world from all the bad people - of which everyone else falls into that category.

That's why.

Seriously?? Other hunters are the reason poachers get caught 99% of the time. I could care less if people are watching me because I'm following the rules. There are far fewer wardens than what is really needed to enforce game laws. Having hunters in the field help is far from a problem.

As far as relating to the mercy killing topic, people should follow the rules or feel so strongly about the situation that they are willing to accept the consequences.

 

[TSAMP]

Something of note: there is a precedent for cell phone companies aiding poaching investigations by giving law enforcement lists of folks who were active in an area during a certain period of time. Your private activities are not private.

I can see it now..
"Which prepaid burners everyone running?" I hear the Kyocera is lightweight and you can change out the faceplate to match the rest of your kit.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I did a local trapper a "favor" recently, killing a large boar coon that was stuck in a trap at an abandoned acreage down the road from my house. Saw the poor thing at noon one day and judging by the ring around the stake, he'd been in it a while. I drove by again just before dark the same day, and the coon was still in the trap very much alive. This gnawed at me some but I kept driving. The next morning, I drove by again and the coon was still in the trap and laying down. I thought to myself, "my God, he finally at least put him down." As I slowed to take a closer look, the coon sat back up wearily. This poor cuss had been in the trap at least 20 hours at this point. I grabbed my .22 and shot him in the head and he never moved again.

I left the coon for the trapper to collect, and hopefully seeing that someone else dispatched his catch will encourage him to check his traps more regularly. It would different if we were in a remote area, but we're not, and his set was in a grazed lot 50 yards off the road for all to see.

I've done some trapping in my day, and my Dad and Father in Law always impressed on me how important it was to check your traps at least twice daily, morning and night, to reduce the animals' suffering and lost catches. To see an animal in a trap for at least 20 hours was too much for me.

 

[ProStaffSteve]

I was shot at through trees FROM A HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICER, trying to put down a deer struck by a car, this was mid july, i was in a boat the other side of the woods he was shooting from. I had half a mind to call it in, but decided to give the dipshit a pass

On the flipside, South Dakota East River pheasant hunting my uncle walked up to a nice WT buck and slit its throat. it was bellowing in an empty field and nobody was around. we left the entire animal of course bc we didnt have a tag. dont remember if it had been shot or hit by a car, it was just the right thing to do

 

[Mojave]

I had a doe tag in Wyoming a few years ago, and found a nice buck that was missing part of his shoulder and a leg.

We didn't shoot him. Was pretty sad not to, wasn't worth the drama. Ethically I'd rather not have gay jail sex.