Dispatch of wounded deer

Steve29

Well-Known Member
I was driving home from a mates house the other day and on exiting motorway onto the slip road I nearly hit a good sized roe buck that was laid in the middle of the road, clearly having been hit by a vehicle ahead of me. I managed to miss it but couldn't slow down in time to have a really good look; so I watched it through the rear view mirror to see if it was still alive. I watched it for as long as I could and it didn't move a muscle, so I carried on and pulled into a layby a bit further up, phoned the police, reported it and suggested they turn up asap with it being in such a dangerous position.

As it turns out I had my shotgun in the car with me as i'd been clay shooting at my mates. I then got to thinking, if the deer had been alive and thrashing around would it have landed me in trouble if I'd dispatched it using my shotgun? It was laid in a rather precarious position on a bend in the slip road, hence me nearly hitting it, and the road was quite busy, so I may have done more harm than good i.e. people seeing me wandering down the road with a shotgun, creating a scene, etc. But being one that hates to see an animal suffer i'd certainly have been torn about what to do.
 
Best advice would be use a knife other wise wait for the police to turn up, control the traffic and give you the nod to pull the trigger then there are no come backs.

Dave
 
As far as I am aware the only potential offence you could have committed could have been that of discharging a firearm within 50ft of a public highway BUT ONLY IF you had caused alarm, disruption or injury to users of that highway.

As it's a shotgun there would be no issues with conditions etc, and a clay load of 7 1/2 would have little chance of ricocheting etc.

The Deer Act allows for you to use a shotgun to dispatch a wounded deer if you believe it will cause rapid unconsciousness and death, which of course it would, so no offence there either.

A police officer ignorant of the applicable laws might cause an issue, as could members of the public claiming to be 'alarmed', but as far as I can see (disclaimers apply!) you would be within the law had you dispatched the deer safely without causing any traffic/people chaos etc.

Alex
 
Excuse my ignorance, but where would you aim for If you had to shoot a deer with a shotgun:oops: head or body:confused:.
 
I would not have waited for the police or called them , knife job ,and left on the verge .there is no offence committed .

As far as I am aware the only potential offence you could have committed could have been that of discharging a firearm within 50ft of a public highway BUT ONLY IF you had caused alarm, disruption or injury to users of that highway.

As it's a shotgun there would be no issues with conditions etc, and a clay load of 7 1/2 would have little chance of ricocheting etc.

The Deer Act allows for you to use a shotgun to dispatch a wounded deer if you believe it will cause rapid unconsciousness and death, which of course it would, so no offence there either.

A police officer ignorant of the applicable laws might cause an issue, as could members of the public claiming to be 'alarmed', but as far as I can see (disclaimers apply!) you would be within the law had you dispatched the deer safely without causing any traffic/people chaos etc.

Alex

Excuse my ignorance, but where would you aim for If you had to shoot a deer with a shotgun:oops: head or body:confused:.


Alex: 50ft only in england ,Scotland you can shoot from the road if you have due cause to do so . The use of shotguns for deer, there are no restrictions in there use, recommendations of loads are AAA or similar

Dc5: The same place you would aim with a rifle, under the same strict caution ,follow the best practice you can in situations such as RTAs always using extreme caution ,theres no ignorance is safety .However there is much arrogance for those that always know better in situations like this .
 
I would not have waited for the police or called them , knife job ,and left on the verge .there is no offence committed .


I wasn't carrying a knife, no reason to, only had the shotgun, hence the OP about using my shotgun for the task :)

A police officer ignorant of the applicable laws might cause an issue, as could members of the public claiming to be 'alarmed',

That would be my concern, and sods law it would be the ignorant officer that would turn up and i'd spend the next few weeks/months/years trying to get my gun back, and that's if I was lucky enough not to get the armed response lot turning up and taking a pop at me! Call me paranoid but it seems entirely possible from posts i've read on here before.

Might be sensible/worthwhile to call the control room to let them know what's going on, that way if they get a call they can explain the situation to the caller?
 
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scoop the back of the head out with shotgun loads but not point blank! Always be just a little back of the thing
 
you done the correct thing mate if you try and dispatch it you leave yourself open to trouble especially if you had used a firearms the police have a register of local stalkers and keepers they use for such events
 
That would be my concern, and sods law it would be the ignorant officer that would turn up and i'd spend the next few weeks/months/years trying to get my gun back, and that's if I was lucky enough not to get the armed response lot turning up and taking a pop at me! Call me paranoid but it seems entirely possible from posts i've read on here before.

Might be sensible/worthwhile to call the control room to let them know what's going on, that way if they get a call they can explain the situation to the caller?

Yes, I was answering the question 'is it legal' rather than 'is it a good idea'! :D I agree, it would be prudent to speak to the local police first!
 
I would have shot it with the shotgun with no hesitation. Draw an imaginary cross from the corner of the eyes to the base of the ears, aim down the neck. Single entry wound no exit. Drag to verge. Job done in under a minute.
 
I would have dispatched it humanely at about 200deg for 20 minutes then turned it down to 150 for an hour or so.
I find red wine jus with redcurrant adds to the dispatch
 
When it comes to wounded or suffering animals, I'm willing to put my FAC at risk or at least risk a bit of an argument with the local constabularies if it came to that. Knife/Shotgun/whatever, put the thing down, back of the car - job done. If anyone had been around, stopped, looked etc. I'd just approach them without my 'tools', and explain the circumstances, even leaving any bystanders with name and number if they wanted to raise it further with the police. Animal welfare first in my book, administrative rules and other red-tape cr@p comes second.
 
Without causing a fuss or drawing attension, I would simply use a sharp knife discreatly, where professionally done, to save the suffering. No amount of vets or police attending would cure or fix the suffering,or distress seen by the public, with an animal struck by a vehicle. The sooner the better !
 
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