What should I do when I see an injured animal?

Question

I saw an injured deer lying by the side of the road today. I was not sure whom I should call. I knew if I called the police, that they would just come and shoot it. I know the animal might have been so badly injured that putting it down would be the humane thing to do. I'd still feel better if I knew of an alternative agency to call; someone who might try to save the animal. And I know better than to try to approach the injured animal myself. In the end I called the police, figuring it was been to call them than to do nothing and leave the animal suffering in pain.

Answer 1

Calling the police is the best thing. They might know the name of a local wildlife rehabilitator. It's hard to see a beautiful animal suffering and the first instinct is to want to help it, but the problem with deer is that they are tough to work with - they're as wild as wild can be, of course, and will fight and damage themselves even worse. And like rabbits, another prey animal, they're very lightly connected to life - they can go into shock and die very easily with too much interference. Putting the deer out of its misery is the best thing in a case like this.

You might try looking on the Internet for a wildlife rehabilitator in your area - you'd be surprised at how many of them are out there.

Answer 2

With deer by the side of the road equates to being hit by car/truck. With this type of injury no organization will try to rehabilitate the animal -in 99.9% of these cases the animal will be euthanized. It is best in most areas to call the police. With the large number of deer/car incidents they know who to contact. If it helps -alot of the deer are picked up by people who can at least utilize the meat in some cases.
Of course the bottom line is that we humans have killed off most the predators of deer and this is one of the main reasons there is a severe over population of them.

Answer 3

It's difficult to assess how badly an animal is hurt just by looking...you don't wanna get too close to it...any wild animal is dangerous because they're unpredictable, and usually stronger than us...an injured animal is more so.

if you're so inclined, just give it some space for a few minutes, and see if it progresses toward getting back on its feet, or if it declines into pain and dying miserably.

Remember, in the wild, there are no hospitals, and a broken leg...heck a broken TOOTH can sometimes be a life-shortening event.

call the police. that's their job. they know what to do, who to call, and have probably handled this situation dozens of times before. it sounds like you don't trust the police's judgement...

Answer 4

What a horrible situation for you, trying to decide what the most humane thing to do. I think there are some wildlife rescue groups that help in situations like that, but usually it is some number you get through Animal Control and if it isn't their regular office hours there isn't too much to be done. Maybe the most humane thing is to euthanize it because animals have enormous stress in a situation like that. Also a predator might come by and make it a slower painful death than euthanasia. Thanks for trying to do the right thing.

Answer 5

You did the right thing, both by keeping your distance (injured animals are desperate and unpredictable) and phoning the police. Once an officer is on the scene, he or she, along with Emergency Services, can decide whether another agency should handle the situation, such as Fish and Game or Animal Control.

Answer 6

No, you don't 'know' if you call the police that they'll come and shoot it. Police don't go around, shooting injured people and things. Unless the deer was black, then you're right they would shoot it. Anyways, the proper course of action is to put a tarp or hay or some masking cover on the injured animal so predators do not see it and injure it further. You could also load the animal into your Kia and speed to the closest animal hospital and drop it off on their doorway. They'll probably call the cops though and they'll probably shoot it in the face with a gun. So, to answer the question, 'what should i do when i see an injured animal?' you should forget you saw it and go on with your life.

Answer 7

you can't do anything about the deer just try not to run it over. But if you see a stray dog or cat thats the time for you to help! If you see an injured mouse 9 times out of 10 theres nothing you can do for it just put it outside!

Answer 8

I am sorry for you because of course I agree, but, no matter who you call the dept of natural resources will come for the deer. The sheriffs dept will probably put it down. The meat goes to any wildlife preserve you may have.

Answer 9

You should probably try to contact a park ranger through the police or another place.

Answer 10

normally i would say call the vet, but in this instence u needed to shoot the deer for he was only suffering