Mercy Killing

[gfdeputy2]

NH deer season ends today
with only an Archery buck tag left I decided to do some tracking in the snow yesterday was following the only fresh track I could find & looking like a doe
I decided to follow it when I started noticing coyote tracks also very fresh following the set of deer tracks. Then another after about a mile hike there were 4-5 coyote tracks following the deer I came to a crest of a hill with a stream at the bottom. There I saw both sides of the stream bank littered with blood. When I got to the stream a head pops up & it is a doe she has what looked like a softball sized hole in her face. I thought she had been shot with a rifle (rifle season ended Dec.7th) further inspection her hide was peeled off her face she stood up very wobbly & shaking bad. I then noticed they also had gotten to her rear end a little. this poor deer was very weak & most likely in shock as for over an hour she stood ten feet from me never taking her eyes off me & never moved a step. I knew she wouldn't survive & wanted to put her out of her misery but I had already used my doe tag this year made phone calls unsuccessfully to fish & game multiple hunters my problem was my phone was dying & really was not sure of my exact location to tell someone where I was. I finally got a hold of a hunting buddy who still had a doe tag & was willing to come put her down luckily we have a map locator app on our phones & he came right to me I honestly don't think I was more then a couple minutes behind the attack & think the yotes heard me breaking through the snow. This is the first time I have ever come across something like this in the woods. It bothered me really bad to see her suffer & I wish I just arrowed her but sucks I couldn't legally. I am still thinking if I couldn't have reached someone I would have had to put her down myself & leave her to the yotes to finish I know this happens It is nature but it really proved that hunting is a hell of a lot more humane then nature
she was legally tagged check in & weighed 114 dressed

[gfdeputy2]

This was the first time I have come across this fresh of an attack. I don't believe I was more then a couple minutes behind

[chiefbkt]

Nice work and way to be persistent. That's a nice size doe that I'm glad someone will get to enjoy.

[gfdeputy2]

Thanks chiefbkt she will be going to a good cause

[Doc]

This is one of the many ways that wildlife can go. No animal dies peacefully in it's sleep as so many anti-hunters imagine. Mother Nature is  very brutal wildlife manager.

[Five Seasons]

said it before and i'll say it again and I don't care if I get flamed for it. Putting any animal out of its suffering is the right thing to do regardless of the law.

[First-light]

said it before and i'll say it again and I don't care if I get flamed for it. Putting any animal out of its suffering is the right thing to do regardless of the law.

 

x2

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Did she have any other signs of distress or injury except for the coyote attack or did she seem otherwise healthy?

[phade]

That's a tough one.

 

In all honesty, I probably would have shot her if I felt she was going to die and dealt with the consequences if I couldn't find a tag or an officer willing to let the spirit of the law be considered rather than the letter.

 

The other half of me would have wanted to see if she could be brought back to health to fight another day. Even as a hunter you have to respect a deer's will to live and endure hardship.

 

Good job on trying to do the right thing.

Edited December 15, 2014 by phade

[irish_redneck]

Only thought I had was with your buddy agreeing to the DMP swap , I'd have shot her and awaited his arrival.

[Taylormike]

GF Deputy great persistence and great decision.  I, as some others have mentioned would have shot her regardless.  Ultimately, you are the one that has to live with your decision.  As Culvercreek asked, "did she seem otherwise healthy".  I actually hope you reply no because there is something very ill feeling about a coyote tracking and attacking a healthy full grown whitetail.  I would guess something was awry...

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Would have shot first and called second myself but the end result would have been the same. An arrow was much better death than eaten alive.  Good for you.

[ATbuckhunter]

Nice going! I hate to see an animal suffering. Im not sure I would have killed the deer my self if I didn't have tags but im glad you knew someone who did. 

[Doc]

 

........"did she seem otherwise healthy".  I actually hope you reply no because there is something very ill feeling about a coyote tracking and attacking a healthy full grown whitetail.  I would guess something was awry...

 

I know we would like to assume that coyotes could never take down a healthy adult deer, but I have seen enough situations that show they can, including a case of domestic dogs of about the same size as coyotes pulling down an adult doe until I interrupted the action. So I have no doubt that the deer likely was a healthy individual.

[gfdeputy2]

Did she have any other signs of distress or injury except for the coyote attack or did she seem otherwise healthy?

 

we skinned & quartered her last night & sad to say she was a very healthy deer other then the wounds from the Coyotes she would have made it through our rough NH winters good thick fat

but lost a lot of blood from the attack

 

 

That's a tough one.

 

In all honesty, I probably would have shot her if I felt she was going to die and dealt with the consequences if I couldn't find a tag or an officer willing to let the spirit of the law be considered rather than the letter.

 

The other half of me would have wanted to see if she could be brought back to health to fight another day. Even as a hunter you have to respect a deer's will to live and endure hardship.

 

Good job on trying to do the right thing.

 

she was not going to survive I was very confident in that & in My hart he was my last call I think it was the right thing to put her out of her misery & put her down

I value my hunting license more then most things it is who I am but was thinking while standing there watching her it was worth paying a fine & losing my license for a year if it came down to it

 

 

Only thought I had was with your buddy agreeing to the DMP swap , I'd have shot her and awaited his arrival.

 

Here in NH we can not swap any tags.NH fish & game states If you do not have the proper tag you can not take the animal

after he took it legally I was told if I did not have a doe tag to let nature take it's course

 

 

[irish_redneck]

Was unaware that we weren't talking about hunting in NY, I see you covered that in your opening sentence.

Edited December 16, 2014 by irish_redneck

[Pipecrew]

You did the right thing.

Years ago, I came across a doe that was gut shot and bedded down. I walked right up to her. She had her head up, but was suffering from extreme shock Her eyes were all glazed over, she didn't have enough strength to even try to get up. I didnt have a doe tag to use but decided to put her out of her misery regardless. We were hunting state land that always has a couple other groups hunting it opening weekend. I radioed to my friend my situation. Lucky for me, someone from another group came down to tag and take the deer. He was happy to have some venison.

Since then, my buddy and I have killed probably 4 or 5 does that have been wounded by other hunters. In the region we hunt now we usually get 2 doe permits each so it's not a hard decision to make.

[nyantler]

I think I would have just as much of a hard time watching coyotes starve to death because they have been interrupted in their attempt to feed themselves the way mother nature intended... I just don't get how hunters can't understand that in nature no animal's life is more important than another's... like Doc said, Mother Nature is brutal in her wildlife management... and all of it is important to the entire ecosystem... predators are part of that system for a good reason... including man, who is the deadliest of all predators.

[wmig2]

You did her a favor. You need to get after those coyotes now.

[Doc]

So, no coyotes were ever actually spotted. That brings to mind a question of whether these could have been a pack of feral or neighborhood dogs. I once broke up a dog pack (three dogs) attack on a deer in our front yard that had the same results. The deer was in a situation where dogs were circling the deer taking bites out. Unfortunately, it was dark out and I never did see the extent of the damage. I chased the dogs off, and the deer immediately limped a few feet into the thicket and was never seen again. Blood in the snow the next day looked pretty bad, but I tracked it for quite a ways, and it didn't seem to be even slowing up.

 

But the point is that dog tracks and coyote tracks in deep snow look pretty identical. And dogs tend to lose interest after causing some major damage, because they are not in it for the food, just the chase. That would explain why there was no more attack going on.

 

Just wondering if that could have been a possibility and coyotes were getting blamed for something done by man's best friend. It sure wouldn't be the first time.

[phade]

I dont see a problem with feeling like putting her down was an issue. I also dont feel bad the yotes were interrupted. Predators have to eat too but as humans we use logic and emotions to make a decision. We as humans despite our predatory nature have compassion and a desire to see things/animals/others persevere or overcome. We see this when rooting for rocky, or an underdog. Its also why we kill deer and then at the same time do things like free them from fences or saw off antlers to free stuck bucks.. and then shoot them at some point in time in the future. Were human and thats unique.

Edited January 3, 2015 by phade

[nyantler]

So, no coyotes were ever actually spotted. That brings to mind a question of whether these could have been a pack of feral or neighborhood dogs. I once broke up a dog pack (three dogs) attack on a deer in our front yard that had the same results. The deer was in a situation where dogs were circling the deer taking bites out. Unfortunately, it was dark out and I never did see the extent of the damage. I chased the dogs off, and the deer immediately limped a few feet into the thicket and was never seen again. Blood in the snow the next day looked pretty bad, but I tracked it for quite a ways, and it didn't seem to be even slowing up.

 

But the point is that dog tracks and coyote tracks in deep snow look pretty identical. And dogs tend to lose interest after causing some major damage, because they are not in it for the food, just the chase. That would explain why there was no more attack going on.

 

Just wondering if that could have been a possibility and coyotes were getting blamed for something done by man's best friend. It sure wouldn't be the first time.

 

I was thinking the same thing when I saw the wound on the deer's face rather than it's rear end... coyotes tend to attack from the rear in most cases... if there were a few coyotes and one got a hold of the deer's face... the others would have been all over that deer in an instant and wouldn't lose interest in a meal so quickly.

 

One thing we know for sure... it wasn't any coyote or dog that killed the deer.

[growalot]

I tend to agree with Doc...having seen this first hand...dogs will chew on the butt and face of a live deer. Yotes do also to get them down.....but  will gut the animal once it's off it's feet. I have put more than a few deer down which is why I always get my extra doe tags...the one I didn't tag, but called police...the cop never even asked if I had a tag(I did) just gave me one before going to look for dog owner... Though with a dog attack...I don't beleive they would have moved of the deer on your approach...by that stage they are in a frenzy from the attack and would not have noticed like yotes...

[nyantler]

Nice work and way to be persistent. That's a nice size doe that I'm glad someone will get to enjoy.

 

What would have been so horrible about the coyotes getting a meal? Doing what mother nature has taught them to do... why is it nice work to interrupt a natural occurrence in the wild? Would it be nice work if we could completely stop predators from killing all together? Or do we just pick and choose the animals predators can consume? Or should we somehow try to train them to kill more humanly? My point is that there is no place for human emotion in nature... in fact, a sure way to screw up an ecosystem is for humans to get involved in trying to change the natural order of things... you may think you're helping.. but you're not.

[chiefbkt]

What would have been so horrible about the coyotes getting a meal? Doing what mother nature has taught them to do... why is it nice work to interrupt a natural occurrence in the wild? Would it be nice work if we could completely stop predators from killing all together? Or do we just pick and choose the animals predators can consume? Or should we somehow try to train them to kill more humanly? My point is that there is no place for human emotion in nature... in fact, a sure way to screw up an ecosystem is for humans to get involved in trying to change the natural order of things... you may think you're helping.. but you're not.

I think you read into my comment too deeply. I'm not saying it would have been horrible if the coyotes would have been able to consume the deer. I was commending him on putting her out of her misery when he found her. Understandably so, I know that very few if any of a coyotes kills are ever quick or humanely. I have no issues with the role predators play in our ecosystem, as they are a very important part. He was a hunter who was hunting deer along with the coyotes. He just so happened to stumble upon the same deer as the coyotes. Like you said, man is the worlds greatest predator and man just so happened to win this battle. It may have ended much more drastically had he actually seen the coyotes in action as I'm sure he may have potentially killed one. It's not a perfect scenario any way we look at it. I'm sure being a guy with a substantial knowledge of hunting and outdoors you get the fact that this type of thing happens.