Mercy Kills - Legality?

[-bowfreak-]

I don't have an opinion on this but this topic makes me think of Megadeth.

 

[Burnsie]

Found a nice doe with a gaping gash in her back just off the trail in our county park. She was paralyzed and suffering. My son knew one of the county deputies and gave him a call. I told him, I could run home and get my sidearm and take care of it - he said NO wait for him. He was there in a few minutes and shot it in the back of the head. He said I could have it if I wanted and gave me a number to call it in.

 

[mi650]

It's always legal if you have a tag and place said tag on the animal you shot. Case closed.

In my case, and since that was my thread, I've tagged them all but one.

The one I didn't tag I hit with my truck, cut it's carotid artery on the side of the road, then donated it. I actually had a tag I could have used, but it wasn't necessary for a road kill.

 

[mi650]

Juries are not instructed to pass judgement based on moral high grounds. They are supposed to simply decide whether or not a law was broken. If it's illegal to euthanize a wild animal and you did so without express permission from state authorities...

The judge won't be happy, but jury nullification is a thing for a reason.

 

[mt terry d]

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.

That brings up an interesting point.
Are you implying one should be content to be prosecuted (nay, persecuted) for doing the right and moral thing ?
Should any moral-minded person be accepting of a system that rewards immoral behavior?
I take issue with that. I would take issue with that in front of the Government Enforcer who would insist (with force if necessary) I go before a judge as well as the judge.

 

[realunlucky]

That brings up an interesting point.
Are you implying one should be content to be prosecuted (nay, persecuted) for doing the right and moral thing ?
Should any moral-minded person be accepting of a system that rewards immoral behavior?
I take issue with that. I would take issue with that in front of the Government Enforcer who would insist (with force if necessary) I go before a judge as well as the judge.

A persons beliefs and standards are not held universally, and as such just because you believe you've acted with justification doesn't make it so.
Exactly why rules are defined as a society; laying out what is acceptable and what isn't. Any deviation has consequences regardless of your core beliefs.


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[mt terry d]

A persons beliefs and standards are not held universally, and as such just because you believe you've acted with justification doesn't make it so.
Exactly why rules are defined as a society; laying out what is acceptable and what isn't. Any deviation has consequences regardless of your core beliefs.


Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Culture and community sets the standards.
Hasn't it been implied if not stated outright that we are dealing with a "mercy kill" , meaning the standard has already been determined . I may have missed one but I think everyone here agrees to that standard: A situation has occurred where an animal needs killing, legal or not . Justification has been determined.

Mobs, Kings, Ayatollahs, Bureaucrats make rules. Yes, deviation from those rules may have consequences. It doesn't change what the moral thing to do is.

 

[FairWeatherFisher]

ORS 498.016​

Taking crippled or helpless wildlife​

• Text
• Annotations

Nothing in the wildlife laws is intended to prohibit any person from killing any crippled or helpless wildlife when the killing is done for a humane purpose. Any person so killing any wildlife shall immediately report such killing to a person authorized to enforce the wildlife laws, and shall dispose of the wildlife in such manner as the State Fish and Wildlife Commission directs.

This is something I’ve always wondered about in regards to using a firearm for that mercy killing. If one were within city limits it would be illegal to use a firearm, even though no wildlife laws are intended to prohibit mercy killings.

Thinking about a friend of mine who’s had two deer get caught in his fence, mangle up their hind quarter, and then die in his yard after hours (days for one of them) of suffering. The city wouldnt touch them unless the deer was in the road, and ODFW didn’t have capacity to go out there. Seems to me shooting the things would have been better, but then he’d get in trouble with the city. The police, however, have no problem coming out and shoot every cougar that gets reported. How it’s different, I have no idea.

Thankfully he just took that damn fence down after the second one.

 

[realunlucky]

Culture and community sets the standards.
Hasn't it been implied if not stated outright that we are dealing with a "mercy kill" , meaning the standard has already been determined . I may have missed one but I think everyone here agrees to that standard: A situation has occurred where an animal needs killing, legal or not . Justification has been determined.

Mobs, Kings, Ayatollahs, Bureaucrats make rules. Yes, deviation from those rules may have consequences. It doesn't change what the moral thing to do is.

Just clarifying-- zealots around the world think their morals are above reproach. (not that I'm implying you're a zealot just that morals are individual beliefs)

I don't think mercy killing has been standardized in this thread, actually the opposite has happened: YOU can very easily believe an animal will not survive yet it does. If an animal will live yet you determine death is ultimately better than life with physical impairments is that true mercy?

Interesting to ponder for sure.

 

[Dos Perros]

That brings up an interesting point.
Are you implying one should be content to be prosecuted (nay, persecuted) for doing the right and moral thing ?
Should any moral-minded person be accepting of a system that rewards immoral behavior?
I take issue with that. I would take issue with that in front of the Government Enforcer who would insist (with force if necessary) I go before a judge as well as the judge.

“Content” is maybe too far. But let’s just say I killed an animal in the name of mercy, got prosecuted and sentenced, I think the next time I had a beer with a friend and he says “man that suuucks!” my attitude would be more “welp took a chance, knew what could happen, oh well.”

 

[mt terry d]

I don't have the energy to be a zealot.

 

[Stalker69]

I had a doe run into my work truck a few weeks back. Messed her back legs and hip up bad , real bad. She was trying to pull her self with her front legs out of the traffic. Cars swerving everywhere, I grabbed her by the front legs and got her to the side of the road, and had to cut her throat. I just couldn’t watch her suffer anymore.

 

[prm]

Do the right thing.

 

[mt terry d]

One situation I had to take care of occurred about 45 years ago. I was an owner/operator pulling a reefer load of potatoes from Idaho Falls to the midwest. A good friend had a load going the same way and we met up to run together up through West yellowstone, Gallatin Canyon to catch I-90 east. Mid-winter, twenty-something below, clear and calm, middle of the night. That was back when thousands of elk wintered in the meadows at the northwest corner of that part of YNP. No one was on the road and we had our spot lights on, going about 20mph, talking on the CB, "look at that bull over there! Wow, look at that one!..." Sometimes we'd have to stop to let some cross. As we're going along my friend yells" I'm in a bunch!! I hit some!" . So we stop and there was a calf, dead as a doornail that either hit his head on the bumper or the road . Didn't appear to have any other damage. ( We were tempted to throw him in a trailer...... ). He said " A cow ran into the side of me, her head was nearly in my window" so we started looking and found a bunch of hair on his fuel tank and tires; figured she got all her legs run over by the tractor and then humped herself over the bank and was laying in the stream. She couldn't get up. I went back to my truck and got my 357 and while my friend held the light I (luckily) made a perfect shot to the brain. She tipped over and started floating towards Big Sky. We wondered who'd get to Bozeman first

 

[Stache Attack]

Easiest to contact a sheriff or fish cop depending on if you’re on the road or in the field.

We hit an antelope barely with the tire trying to avoid all of them. No damage to vehicle. Called dispatch sheriff was off and fish cop was not interested. Sheriff called and asked if we wanted it and could dispatch. Yes and yes. Rural road, shot it took it to nearest state section, gutted and went to hang it up. My buddies first antelope!

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Just clarifying-- zealots around the world think their morals are above reproach. (not that I'm implying you're a zealot just that morals are individual beliefs)

I don't think mercy killing has been standardized in this thread, actually the opposite has happened: YOU can very easily believe an animal will not survive yet it does. If an animal will live yet you determine death is ultimately better than life with physical impairments is that true mercy?

Interesting to ponder for sure.

Combine "arrogance of man" with a subset of the hunting population that possess strong narcissistic traits and you get a window in the mindset of some folks on this site.