# How to kill a suffering deer humanely, without a gun? \[graphic images warning\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491 "2010-06-25T14:50:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/21 "2010-06-25T16:19:41Z")
That is a tough situation to deal with, and glad to know that people give a darn 🙂 In the past, my experience(s) in Tx and Idaho with such situations have usually ended up with Fish/Game folks giving the go-ahead to kill (if not showing up themselves if possible). I’ve heard from buddies that were involved that there are usually food banks/pantries (organizations to feed the poor, so to speak) that will take the carcass and make use of it if it still ‘worthy’. Waste not / want not. Often, there are butchers that volunteer their labor for the food banks as well. Figuring out who to call is the difficult part (as is obvious in the OP). Thanks for your attention to the issue! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Urban_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/22 "2010-06-25T16:25:40Z")
Too late now, but if you’d had a canister of an inert gas (nitrogen, argon etc.) and a plastic bag, you could’ve used this to asphyxiate the deer humanely, more so than using a gun. Still, it’s better not to hang around. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/23 "2010-06-25T16:31:36Z")
I would NOT recommend **Spaceman** ’s idea. You said yourself the deer is still flailing and if you’re close enough to put a bag on its head you’re close enough to get a mouthful of hoof. ---
**Author:** ![Blut\_Aus\_Nord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Blut\_Aus\_Nord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blut_Aus_Nord)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/24 "2010-06-25T17:46:07Z")
I don’t understand what’s so inhumane about using a gun. One shot to the head and it’s over instantaneously. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/25 "2010-06-25T17:59:46Z")
> [@Chakra Nadmara](#): > > I don’t understand what’s so inhumane about using a gun. One shot to the head and it’s over instantaneously. I don’t think it would have been very humane to **Phlosphr** , though. Having a neighbor willing to do it perform the deed will be more humane all round, and that’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/26 "2010-06-25T18:09:54Z")
Looks like there is some mercy in the universe. We walked down to where she was laying and she had died. Peacefully - in a meadow. The neighbor was astonished she had died as we just checked on her not 20 minutes before and she was still very much alive and kicking. I’m glad we didn’t have to use the gun. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/27 "2010-06-25T18:14:28Z")
I’m not knocking **Phlosphr** , but I don’t understand the reluctance to shoot the deer yourself. You know it’s necessary under the circumstances, you have a gun available, why not do what must be done yourself? Killing this deer would have been an act of mercy. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/28 "2010-06-25T18:24:14Z")
It’s something that is completely out of my normal sphere of consciousness. It’s not a queasy thing, it’s more of a “I don’t kill animals thing”. And I \*was \*going down there to kill it - I may not have been the one pulling the trigger, but I would have been there. The guns I have are for target shooting and home defense…more the former really. I agree with the necessity…it was necessary for sure! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Urban_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/29 "2010-06-25T18:25:32Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I would NOT recommend **Spaceman** ’s idea. You said yourself the deer is still flailing and if you’re close enough to put a bag on its head you’re close enough to get a mouthful of hoof. …you still have to get within flailing range if you’re willing to dispatch the deer by putting a gun to its temple. If it was flailing dangerously use some common sense and get someone to help you restrain the deer. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/30 "2010-06-25T18:29:33Z")
OK. I hope I haven’t offended you, as that was not my intent. I guess we just come from radically different perspectives. Dispatching the injured deer would not have been pleasant, but it’s something I’d have done without hesitation. It’s sort of a “Code of the Woods” type thing from my perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/31 "2010-06-25T18:41:48Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/32 "2010-06-25T19:21:00Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > OK. I hope I haven’t offended you, as that was not my intent. I guess we just come from radically different perspectives. Dispatching the injured deer would not have been pleasant, but it’s something I’d have done without hesitation. It’s sort of a “Code of the Woods” type thing from my perspective. Not at all, and you are right, “code of the woods” and all. I’ve been a guide out here in CO for back country trips for just about a year, and one of the things we always talk about is the life force of animals. One way or another, this deer was moving on today! ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/33 "2010-06-25T19:27:00Z")
> [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](#): > > …you still have to get within flailing range if you’re willing to dispatch the deer by putting a gun to its temple. If it was flailing dangerously use some common sense and get someone to help you restrain the deer. Approaching it from the back and shooting it from a few feet away is different than putting a bag over its head. It won’t even know it’s about to be shot- but it’s going to immediately start flailing as soon as you put a bag over its head. And now you’re talking about bringing in a person to physically restrain the animal? It’s far easier and more humane for all involved to simply use a firearm. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/34 "2010-06-25T22:42:23Z")
Cut the throat in this situation if you do not have a gun. It is what I was taught to do as a hunter. It looks bad and it is messy, but, and I’m not snarking at you, it wouldn’t have laid there for what looks like 3 fucking hours in agony just because YOU couldn’t do what was needed. I know that it would have been a difficult thing for you, but these are the bad things in life that happen and that we need to make rational decisions about. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/35 "2010-06-25T23:03:15Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > Looks like there is some mercy in the universe. We walked down to where she was laying and she had died. Peacefully - in a meadow. The neighbor was astonished she had died as we just checked on her not 20 minutes before and she was still very much alive and kicking. I’m glad we didn’t have to use the gun. Next time, use the “Need Answer Fast!” ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/36 "2010-06-25T23:10:50Z")
> [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](#): > > Too late now, but if you’d had a canister of an inert gas (nitrogen, argon etc.) and a plastic bag, you could’ve used this to asphyxiate the deer humanely, more so than using a gun. Still, it’s better not to hang around. How is grabbing a wounded and terrified animal and suffocating it to death with a plastic bag better than a shot to the back of the head??? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/37 "2010-06-25T23:20:42Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Cut the throat in this situation if you do not have a gun. It is what I was taught to do as a hunter. > > It looks bad and it is messy, but, and I’m not snarking at you, it wouldn’t have laid there for what looks like 3 fucking hours in agony just because YOU couldn’t do what was needed. > > I know that it would have been a difficult thing for you, but these are the bad things in life that happen and that we need to make rational decisions about. I think **jtgain** , that’s a little harsh. We need to remember that there are many people that would not have cared at all. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/38 "2010-06-26T00:52:30Z")
> [@julius blaze](#): > > How is grabbing a wounded and terrified animal and suffocating it to death with a plastic bag better than a shot to the back of the head??? The post you’re quoting was not talking about suffocation. Rather, the suggestion was to use an inert gas. The animal would keep breathing but without any oxygen. Better than simple suffocation… … but not better than a gun for either humane reasons or personal safety. Deer are dangerous if you get into their personal space. I can’t find any cites that provide the number of people killed by deer in non-traffic incidents, but they can and do kill people every year. An injured deer might be even more dangerous because she knows running isn’t an option. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/39 "2010-06-26T02:44:58Z")
Good gosh. Ideas of trying to suffocate it? That shooting it humanly might get you in trouble for poaching? Have a can of inert gas around? Let me check. :shess: I lost a lot of faith in the SDMB with these responses. **Phlosphr**. I suspect that you still have a job to do. Call DOW and CDOT and see if any of them can help you dispose of the carcass. If there are any good people there, they might help you drag it to the road. If I was closer, I would help you do it myself. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Urban_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491/40 "2010-06-26T10:58:14Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Good gosh. > > Ideas of trying to suffocate it? That shooting it humanly might get you in trouble for poaching? > > Have a can of inert gas around? Let me check. > > :shess: I lost a lot of faith in the SDMB with these responses. The brief was to euthanise the deer without a gun. Inducing hypoxia is the most humane method available without recourse to drugs, or a gun. Any method of killing the deer will put you in close proximity to it, and at risk of injury if you don’t keep your wits about you. Inert gas is ideal, but natural gas, acetylene, butane, or even air duster would suffice. Personally I’d have sprung the $100 for a vet in an instant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-a-suffering-deer-humanely-without-a-gun-graphic-images-warning/544491.md?page=3)