Deer?

[Trhopeful]

How many time have you dealt with deer calls?

Have you ever had to shoot a deer to put it out of it's misery.


The reason I'm asking is a little while ago a deer ran across the road I was driving on and I missed it by 2 car lengths. She came out of nowhere.

[Bing_Oh]

Deer are plentiful in this area. It's a rare day during rutting season that there aren't multiple car-deer crashes. I've personally had two car-deer: one on duty in a (brand new) marked unit and one in my personal vehicle...that was a bad year. Even when it's not rutting season, it's not uncommon to see deer beside or crossing the roadway after sunset. Needless to say, those of us who work after dark are very cautious of deer, especially when running hot. Nothing can ruin your shift like hitting a deer at almost 100 mph.

And, yes, I've had to put down a deer after it was hit by a car. It's probably more rare to find an officer who hasn't had to shoot a deer on duty than one who has in my area.

[SRT936]

Deer calls are pretty much a daily occurance around here. Putting them down is probably once every two weeks or so. As Bing-oh said, they are a real hazard to emergency responders, especially after dark. I hit one doing 100mph a few years ago. I ended up in the hospital. (Of course it doesn't help that I'm VERY allergic to deer hair.)

[C-Charlie42]

We too get tons of deer calls when it is deer season or when it's cold. Lot's of car vs deer accidents during the winter and early spring. I've had two shoot two that were still alive but mortally wounded by vehicles.

[VA Dutch]

I remember an 'injured deer' call way back when. Someone hit a doe with an SUV and it was dying on the shoulder of the road. We were called to put it out of its misery as Bambi was just not able to get up and walk away.

Being what it is when you have to discharge a service weapon (paperwork, calling your sergeant, etc., etc.), I was lucky that a couple of hunters happened upon the scene with an empty pickup truck.

They volunteered to "rifle-euthanize" the deer if they could keep the carcass. Sweet! Myself and another deputy got everyone out of the way while Billy Bob & Bubba took care of it. We notified the game warden, and sent everyone on their way. Some family ended up with some nice venison, too.


A deer of just about any size can really do some damage to your car -- not to mention what often happens when one swerves to avoid colliding with a moving deer!

[irishdep]

Same here, deer calls are very frequent. We also have to put them down if necessary. Most of the time if the deer isn't mangled too bad someone will stop and want to take it. They get a temp. tag for the deer and it helps eliminate the rotting carcass on the side of the road.

[GrayPatriot]

I have around 5-8 car/deer accidents a month and maybe one of those need to be dispatched.

[ISPCAPT]

Hunting season kills over 100,000 deer in IL. We kill more than that with vehicles. During rut, particularly early morning and late afternoon, if you get a crash call most likely it involves a deer. They're thick.

[PhilipCal]

Deer

Don't recall the exact figure, but we nail quite a few deer in Alabama.

[VA Dutch]

Not related directly to the "deer" topic, but this thread reminded me of a very funny incident of miscommunication.

A civilian called into dispatch claiming that a door had "fallen off a pickup truck" and apparently had been hit by a passing car and was lying in the middle of the road. Only problem was that he pronounced it as "doe" (much as people say 'court' as "coat" sometimes). The call went out to patrol units as a dead deer (doe) in the road. Needless to say there was a lot of laughter when two deputies drove up to see the remains of a wooden bedroom door in the travel lane of a busy highway. No doe or buck, however.

[JPatrick]

I've been involved in two deer-vehicle incidents and I was driving both times. The first did some front end damage. The second was a glancing blow and the deer recovered and pranced off.

Just to look at the number of "deerburgers" lying on the road in October and November, I'd say Wisconsin is right up there in deer-vehicle incidents. Pennsylvania and West Virginia have their share too.

[NightStix]

I remember an 'injured deer' call way back when. Someone hit a doe with an SUV and it was dying on the shoulder of the road. We were called to put it out of its misery as Bambi was just not able to get up and walk away.

Being what it is when you have to discharge a service weapon (paperwork, calling your sergeant, etc., etc.), I was lucky that a couple of hunters happened upon the scene with an empty pickup truck.

They volunteered to "rifle-euthanize" the deer if they could keep the carcass. Sweet! Myself and another deputy got everyone out of the way while Billy Bob & Bubba took care of it. We notified the game warden, and sent everyone on their way. Some family ended up with some nice venison, too.


A deer of just about any size can really do some damage to your car -- not to mention what often happens when one swerves to avoid colliding with a moving deer!

OK, forgive me here guys. I work in a bad city, and a grew up in the cornfields, so I never get a deer call here, but I HAVE to ask. If you get a "deer call" and have to kill it, do you at least get to take it home??? I know the paper work is probably a pain, but you may be able to get some jerky or bolgna out of it.

Only reason I ask is cause in PA if you hit a deer and kill it you can take it home, had to put all the legs threw the windows and roll them up so it wouldnt fall of the roof. I guess I'm a true red neck.

[Bing_Oh]

OK, forgive me here guys. I work in a bad city, and a grew up in the cornfields, so I never get a deer call here, but I HAVE to ask. If you get a "deer call" and have to kill it, do you at least get to take it home??? I know the paper work is probably a pain, but you may be able to get some jerky or bolgna out of it.

Only reason I ask is cause in PA if you hit a deer and kill it you can take it home, had to put all the legs threw the windows and roll them up so it wouldnt fall of the roof. I guess I'm a true red neck.

Around here, the person who hit the deer gets first pick if they want to take the carcass. If they don't want it, we have a "deer kill list" of people who have signed up to take deer struck by vehicles. Unless the deer is VERY small, it's not difficult to find somebody to take the carcass.

So, no, I've never heard of the officer taking the deer.

[tiny]

I've had to put down all types of animals...deer, dogs, cats, possums, raccoons, etc...we notify DOT, and they come pick 'em up. Almost had a turkey fly into me as I drove down the road...missed me by about 1 foot. Also got a bobcat once...took it to fish and game, got a tag on it, and the let me keep it...no damage to the pelt, just a broken back.


ETA : thankfully we do not have to do use of force forms for killing animals...though I know of a state trooper who used to carry a ball peen hammer to dispatch animals, when they had to fill out forms if they shot them (don't know if they still do or not).

[rcs442]

Yep - one of the less appetizing parts of the job. Nothing like standing on a frozen ditch watching the poor thing spin and bleed. I had one in the lake the other day - played cat and mouse with her from side to side of the dock before she tired enough to be on the same side of the dock as I was (she didn't have functioning legs on the right side - couldn't leave her there.) Just as I'm getting ready to dispatch her, two guys in canoes decided to stop in the lake, in my line of fire, to "wait until I'm done."
Yippee.

My dh is a hunter and would love it if I could bring them home with me, but I don't see myself transporting them on top of my Saturn.