If you hit and kill a deer on the road

[yankee_minis]

I hit a little 90 pound doe a few weeks ago. She was still moving afterwards. I called 911. The guy behind me hit her again and put her out of her misery. He took home the carcass for meat.

There were 3 or 4 other deer running with her that turned back to the woods in time. (I laid on my horn for some reason and maybe that helped?) I wonder if they missed her? She was the brave one-- going first-- and she didn't make it.

I was devastated!! Those beautiful doe eyes!! They looked so much like horse eyes!

So do you cry when you hit a deer or another wild animal? Or am I the only one who feels awful about killing Bambi's mother?

 

[MInx]

Awww, don't feel so bad. there's nothing you can do in a situation like that. Years ago I came around a corner and there were 7 Herford cows playing in the road and as hard as I tried I hit one and gravely injured it. Thank God it died just seconds before I had to kill it as I was not sure I could do it.

Deer are so gentle and almost ghost like so that experience stays with us more I'm sure than a full grown cown that totalled my brand new 3 week old truck And I know it will take time to get over any guilty feelings but it's part of the world we live in when we live in the North as we do.

It's ok, she is at peace and you will be too.

Maxine

 

[Cronewolf]

:new_shocked: I cry over almost any critters death. I've been so lucky to never have hit anything living. I don't even hit dead ones if i can avoid it. If I did I'm not sure I would ever drive again.

 

[justanothercowgirl]

I've cried over any little animal that I have hit and I even feel bad if I hit a butterfly.

 

[sfmini]

I cried...... over the damage to my truck! I was MAD! Great big buck with a rack and he got away. I wanted to get a picture of the buck with me in my goin to work clothes, arm on truck, holding him up by his antlers like you see those great hunter pictures.

We aren't too fond of deer here. They are worse than rats. Too many of them, and they are damaging our Christmas trees big time. We have a special pest permit that allows us to hunt 24/7, any weapon during the off season to try to thin the numbers here. They do extensive vehicle damage, as well as human injuries and deaths.

That said, no I would not be one of those hunting, not one who can kill, but I am the one who takes pictures of the deer after they are shot.

Have to say my brother's, neigbors, and our freezers are full and we will never want for food.

 

[Sterling]

I was going down the road one day after work and hit a wild pheasant....I felt it go underneath my truck when it flew out but there was nothing I could do short of swerving and my first reaction was to be a safe driver so as not to cause a vehicle accident. Yes....needless to say I felt sooooo bad!!!!!

 

[Marty]

Back in Florida, my friends nick-named my truck the "DILLER KILLER".......I was always hitting those dang armidillos. They are butt nasty to hit too cause they smash up real bad and crunch.

Yep, I'd freak out and cry every time.

Now the truck has been re-named the "MATER SMASHER" because I hit a fruit stand and smashed all the maters........... :new_shocked: That darn fruit stand just jumped out in front of my truck

:

 

[hhpminis]

I know you feel bad, I have a terrible time if I hit anything or if I see a dead animal by the side of the road. Yes I cry everytime.

Sometimes you just cant help it and short of crashing yourself or someone else, hitting them is the only choice.

Sorry you had to go through it.

You will feel better soon. Probably will be a little gun shy for a while though.

 

[Laura]

I imagine if I hit one and it was severely injured, I'd feel bad, but of the THREE I've hit, 2 went bouncing on their way with my truck suffering the damage...sorry, no, I was MAD!!! The one I hit and killed, no, I still didn't really feel too bad...I was still mad

: I actually had one jump off of a bluff STRAIGHT into the side panel of my truck..talk about being mad!

 

[FFFoxyGal]

I CRY!!!!!!

Back home,...I hit a raccoon one night,.....We had another couple with us,......and I was crying and shaking so hard that Fred had to drive the rest of the way,...I didnt drive for a couple of days after!

: :no:

now,..out here in Sask,....it is the sweet little prairie dogs,.....They are everwhere,.....I try to avoid most of them if I can,...i dont cry as often,..but,..it still saddens me!

 

[hairicane]

Here is my story and take it as a warning. I dont want to kill most anything and early one morning on an open turnpike a little bunny hopped in front of me. I had just checked my mirrors and there were no vehicles anywhere near me. So I swerved slightly to try and avoid the little sucker and I hear a car horn and see a little car bounce off the side of my van, spin out of control and almost fly off the overpass we were on! The guy could very definitely have been killed. Thank GOD he wasnt! Now he had to have been SPEEDING big time to have caught up to me in the few seconds it took him to catch up to me and I could not see him as I was in a full size van and he was coming up around me to pass on the right. BUT I got the ticket and wrecked my brand new van. And the bunny still got hit by one of us so next time I have to try and not cause an accident if I am ever in that situation again. The cop pointed out that I didnt save the bunnys life so I went through all that stress and expense for nothing.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I cry any time I hit something, and that thankfully is rare. I adore watching deer and we have lots around here. I've never hit one yet, knock wood, but I know it would break my heart.

 

[Sandy S.]

LUCKILY I HAVEN'T HIT A DEER YET. BUT I THINK I WOULD CRY. JUST YESTERDAY THOUGH A GROUNDHOG WAS RUNNING ACROSS THE ROAD AND I ALMOST STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD TO LET HIM GET ACROSS, INSTEAD HE TURNED AND RAN BACK BEFORE COMING TO MY SIDE. AT THE TIME NO ONE WAS CLOSE BEHIND ME, BUT A COP CAME UP ON ME AS I WAS STILL GOING A LITTLE SLOW AFTER TAKING OFF FROM A STOP. HE GAVE ME A WEIRD LOOK AND FOLLOWED ME FOR A LONG LONG TIME. THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GET A TICKET OR SOMETHING.

IT HAS HELPED THOUGH, THOSE STUPID COMMERCIALS WHERE THE LITTLE SQUIRREL RUNS OUT IN THE ROAD AND MAKES CARS CRASH THEN GOES OVER AND GIVES THE HIGH FIVE TO HIS LITTLE BUDDY. THAT KINDA HAS HELPED ME AT LEAST NOT SWERVE SO MUCH AND MAKE SOMEONE ELSE RUN OFF THE ROAD OR ME. I TRY TO AVOID BUT NOT IF IT WILL CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

 

[Mona]

I feel very bad when I hit and kill animals while driving, but no, I do not cry. The only time I cried was when I hit a dog. I couldn't even get out of my car...my husband did. One other time we backed over someone's kitten while we were backing out of their driveway. Hubby was driving that time, and I cried then too. I guess I must only cry over domesticated animals/pets and not wildlife.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I would get upset, but I would also get a bumper guard for the front of the vehicle and carry something I could despatch it with if necessary. I'm with the man who picked it up for meat!! I would be very upset about hurting anything, but not so upset I did not want the meat

 

[Relic]

l hit a big moose years back and the truck was a write of and the moose hobbled away into the bushes so never knew what happened to it and didn't feel sorry for the thing either seeing as l had no truck to drive.

l never drive at dawn or dusk around here when the crazy deer are on the move they are so stupid and leap out of the ditches stand and look at you while you can't brake fast enough without flipping.

 

[RENMACMINIS]

Marty is your truck blue by any chance???? That is what we call my husbands truck as 5 deer have jumped out in front of him in that truck. One time he got 2 at a time. :new_shocked: Deer are very plentiful here in WV where I live. We have to use really strong fencing b/c the deer just tear it down or mash it down by jumping over, thru or going under the fencing. We cant use electric fencing as we would be out fixing it everyday. Hubby is a hunter and usually once a deer has been hit by a car the meat is too damanged to be used. So we have never took one that he has hit. We also have a problem with Turkey's they fly so low across roadways that when one flys across in front of you it smashes out your windshield. Also the Bear are getting bad here. A friend of ours hit one about 10 minutes from our home and it completely totaled his brand new car. The DNR came out and took a tooth and measured it and weighed it and threw it over the bank. told him he was not allowed to take it???? dont know why that was our friend wanted to see if he could salvage the hide and have it mounted or turned into a rug. When hubby has hit a deer and it needed to be finished off he always used his tire iron.

 

[shane]

I WOULD CRY,I LOVE ANIMALS,AND ID HATE TO HIT ANYTHING,MY HUBBY DOESNT LIKE AN ANIMAL SUFFERING EITHER,BUT THE WAY HE SEES IT IF WE WERE ALL STARVING HE WOULD EAT OUR DOG!! NOT THAT THERE ANY MEAT ON HER SHES A TOY POODLE,HE SAYS IT ALL THE TIME TO WIND ME UP,THEN I CATCH HIM LOVING HER AND GIVING HER SOME OF HIS DINNER,AND TREATS,HEH MAYBE HES FATTENING HER UP FOR SOMETHING LOL

I DEFINATLEY COULDNT EAT ANYTHING I KILLED,NOPE NO WAY, :no: IT WOULD PUT ME OFF DRIVING AGAIN,I REMEMBER MY HUBBY RUNNING OVER A CAT AND HE HAD TO REVERSE OVER IT AGAIN TO PUT IT OUT OF ITS MISERY,I WAS NEARLY SICK,I CANT EVEN DRIVE OVER A DEAD ANIMAL......... :no:

 

[justaboutgeese]

In areas where deer are over populated to start with deer / vehicle collisions are a fact of life. States like New York and Michigan harvest about 29,000 deer a year with autos. Just the price paid for allowing the animals to overpopulate. That number by the way is higher than we harvest here in Ontario with firearms. I personally have hit a number of deer over the years. The last incident was in early January. I tried to avoid one, she turned around and I end up hitting three at one time. Totaled the vehicle. Trust me they would have been much better off dying as a result of a gunshot. Maintaining a stable deer population is the biggest key in minimizing deer collisions

 

[Miniv]

I highly recommend that people who live in deer country -- get a DEER WHISTLE! They do work!

We live in an area with a high population of deer, but I still feel sad when I see one dead on the side of the road. It was a living breathing animal and a beautiful example of God's creation. Yes, the deer poplulation in different areas of the continent is high.....but who's fault is that!? Not the deer.

You might think it's stupid, but whenever I drive by a dead animal/bird on the highway -- no matter what it is -- I say a prayer, blessing its soul on its way.

IMO, it's all a part of honoring life and death.

MA