# My neighbors are doing this; is it illegal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829 "2004-11-09T13:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/1 "2004-11-09T13:47:26Z")
I live in the middle of metro Nashville. (Not a rural area, not the suburbs.) In fact, I live right on a HUGE street. There’s a whole block of duplexes, and the three clustered on the corner kind of share a back yard. Well, for two days now my next-door neighbors have had a HUGE!! dead deer lying in their back yard. So basically, there’s a dead deer in my backyard, and since my bedroom looks right out over the yard it’s kinda hard to avoid seeing it. Don’t they have to take it somewhere, or skin it and put the meat in the freezer and get it over with, or whatever they’re going to do? (I don’t exactly think it got there by itself.)Isn’t this illegal??? It definitely seems like it should be. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/2 "2004-11-09T14:02:59Z")
Call your local health and/or animal-control agency and report it. They should come by and collect the carcass as it almost certainly poses a significant disease risk. ---
**Author:** ![TJVM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@TJVM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJVM)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/3 "2004-11-09T14:15:48Z")
The Nashville City Code is online [here](http://ordlink.com/codes/nashvill/index.htm) . If you go to Title 10 (Health and Safety) and then section 10.70.020, you find the following: > [@](#): > > 10.70.020 Removal from private property. > > A. Upon receiving notice of a dead animal being located on private property, the department shall attempt to locate the owner of record of such private property. If the owner can be contacted, then the dead animal will be removed as expeditiously as possible by the department for disposal in accordance with the provisions of Section 10.70.030, provided that the authorization and release attached hereto is executed by the owner or his authorized representative. > > B. If the owner refuses to execute said authorization and release, then it shall be the responsibility of the owner to remove the dead animal within forty-eight hours of notification from the department to do so; and to cause the animal’s remains to be disposed of in an appropriate manner, all at the property owner’s expense. > > C. If the property owner has not been located and contacted within two business days of the metropolitan government’s receipt of notice of the presence of the animal, the department of public works is authorized, subject to the written certification of the director of health pursuant to Section 2.36.020, to enter upon the property upon which the animal is located for the purpose of removing the animal for disposal in accordance with the provisions of Section 10.70.030. In the absence of such written certification, removal of the dead animal shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property pursuant to subsection B of this section. > > D. The failure of a property owner, upon receipt of notice from the department to comply with the provisions of this ordinance either by promptly executing the authorization and release attached hereto, or, in the alternative, complying with the provisions of subsection B of this section, shall be punishable by a penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars, with each day of noncompliance constituting a separate violation. (Ord. BL2000-500 § 2, 2000) I’m not sure which “department” this section refers to, but there’s probably a Health Department or somesuch within the city government. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/4 "2004-11-09T14:17:21Z")
The police department needs to come over and ticket the carcass I believe before anyone can remove it. I see dead deer on the highway in CT all the time with those bright orange tickets from the highway patroll pinned on them. Sometimes there is a list of people who will pick the up - for what ever reason - and they simply need to be called. Just be thankfull it’s not the middle of august! No I do not believe they are breaking any laws. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/5 "2004-11-09T15:04:12Z")
It could be worse. The was an old guy outside Anchorage AK who had homesteaded some remote property in the fifties, then civilization sort of grew in around him. He keep a string of sled dogs, and fed them mostly frozen salmon. He found out a friend of his had a horse die, so he threw a rope around the half-frozen carcass, tied it to the bumper of his pickup, and dragged it into his yard for the dogs to eat. When the neighbors saw a dozen dogs tearing at a horse carcass, they hit the roof, and complained to the authorities. But, lo and behold, they could find no ordinance that prevented a dog owner from feeding them a dead horse in the front yard. Wasn’t that big of a problem though, within a few weeks the carcass was mostly gone. Got any dogs? ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/6 "2004-11-09T17:30:37Z")
So you don’t like my deer, neighbor? No jerky for you. Seriously, was the deer shot and brought there, or did it die in their yard, or was it hit by a car and brought home? If it were my problem, either the 2nd or 3rd would be an animal control call, the first I would get Metro out there. ---
**Author:** ![professor\_folk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df788c/32.png) [@professor\_folk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/professor_folk)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/7 "2004-11-09T19:56:38Z")
why not just call City Hall and have them direct you to the proper authority to deal with the deer? That’s what I did with a dead skunk. It was dealt with in a matter of hours. But, I’m in Canada. We do things differently here. ---
**Author:** ![smilingscar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@smilingscar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smilingscar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/8 "2004-11-09T21:59:26Z")
you’ve heard the “legal” way to deal with this problem (otherwise known as the sissy way). now here’s the fun way to get rid of the deer. 1. dress up in a deer suit (red nose optional) 2. make up some pamphlets 3. go around, hang up pictures of a deer claiming your brother has gone missing 4. go to your neighbor’s door with a photo of said deer, ask if they have seen your brother 5. cry ☹ 6. yell “fur is murder” then run away ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/9 "2004-11-09T22:14:06Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Seriously, was the deer shot and brought there \ No deer hunter would leave their prize laying on the ground in their back yard for two days. Even if it’s been field dressed already (OP didn’t specify) it would go straight into a freezer. Two days of it laying on the ground and all the venison’s ruined, field dressed or not. If you speculate that it didn’t get there by itself, call the City. If any of the department workers know anything about hunting, they will not have a sense of humor about someone killing a deer and leaving it for dead in their back yard. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/10 "2004-11-09T22:28:37Z")
A little dead deer trivia: not too long agon in WI we passed a law so if you hit and kill a deer with an _airplane_, you can keep the deer. ---
**Author:** ![Gamaliel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b487fb/32.png) [@Gamaliel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gamaliel)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/11 "2004-11-09T22:37:09Z")
Is plane hunting a popular Wisconsin sport? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/12 "2004-11-09T22:59:58Z")
Not wildly popular, but it has its adherents. Rich people lumbering around on small private airports in their Cesnas and Lear jets. Closest approximation I can think of is polo, played with planes and deer. Another bit of deer trivia. Nearly 1 in 6 auto accidents in WI involve deer. IMO, a pretty astounding number, given there are hardly any deer in Milwukee. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/13 "2004-11-09T23:02:57Z")
So that law isn’t for cases when a plane hits something on the evening of December 24th? ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/14 "2004-11-10T00:24:23Z")
Update: After three days, the deer disappeared. Thank God! The thing is, though, that now I may never know WHY it was there. I don’t see any way on earth it could have wandered into the yard. My uncles and cousins are hunters and I agree, it made no sense at all to bring it home and leave it lying on the ground if that was the case. It didn’t look like it was hit by a car. Weird. Just… weird. ---
**Author:** ![smilingscar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@smilingscar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smilingscar)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/15 "2004-11-10T00:31:24Z")
whether hit by a car or shot by a hunter, a deer can run a helluva long ways. i seem to remember from a shotgun safety course that a deer can run 5 miles on a broken leg (5 or one, not sure, still damn impressive). so maybe the deer was fatally wounded in another location and happened to land in your yard. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/16 "2004-11-10T01:10:57Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > The police department needs to come over and ticket the carcass Heh. “FREEZE!” ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/17 "2004-11-10T01:11:54Z")
My elderly neighbor awoke just last week, to find a dead deer practically on her doorstep. We figured that it had been hit on the main road during the night, ran, and died when it could stagger no more. She called the Town, and was told that since it was on private property, the Town wouldn’t do anything about it. She had to dispose of it her self. Well, ole LTFIRE walked on over there, grabbed that hunk of meat, and dragged it onto the road. The Town came 30 minutes later with a pick up truck, and, problem solved. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/18 "2004-11-10T01:42:52Z")
Am I the only one who read the title of this thread and thought it would be much more tawdry than it is? ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/19 "2004-11-10T01:50:20Z")
> [@Anise](#): > > Update: > After three days, the deer disappeared. Thank God! Three days? Did it actually disappear, or is it wandering around showing people the holes in its hooves? ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829/20 "2004-11-10T02:20:14Z")
> [@Tenar](#): > > Three days? Did it actually disappear, or is it wandering around showing people the holes in its hooves? Maybe it rose from the dead. I don’t know. :dubious: I’m sorry about the non-tawdriness of the thread, btw. Maybe if we changed it to “I saw my neighbors having sex with a deer in the back yard at three a.m. for three nights running now…” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-are-doing-this-is-it-illegal/273829.md?page=2)