Salvage
I would like to salvage this animal and agree to the terms of salvage:
Yes
I safely, humanely, and lawfully dispatched this injured animal:
Yes
Parts Salvaged:
Whole Animal
What
Species:
Species Confidence:
I'm absolutely certain
Count:
1
Count Type:
Absolute
Sex:
Male
Life State:
Alive
Life Stage:
Yearling
Disposition:
Roadside
Decomposition:
Fresh
Species Account:
While turkey hunting near Cecil D Andrus WMA I noticed a fawn mule deer in the ditch. I pulled over to investigate. I noticed the fawn could not stand up and did not have use of its back legs. He was just a few feet off the asphalt. I drove over to the WMA where I spoke to the resident biologist. I was not aware I could dispatch the animal. He assured me I could as long as the animal was mortally wounded. The fawn was clearly mortally wounded but to ensure the gentleman met me at the site and witnessed me dispatch the animal with my pistol. He informed me I needed to fill out this form. I am an avid deer hunter and can truly say I did not enjoy performing this act at all. But I could not let the animal sit and suffer as it was. We loaded the fawn in the back of my truck I then proceeded to hunt turkeys with my special draw tag I won this year. I was able to kill a turkey as well. I drove into the national forest nearby where my friend and I butchered both the fawn and the turkey. We quartered the fawn and removed the heart and liver for consumption. We also plucked the turkey as I like to use the leg and thigh meat for sausage or wild turkey carnitas. While butchering the fawn we discovered it has a broken back. The break was at the location of the tenderloins and the meatiest part of the backstrap loins. This was disappointing but in an effort to use as much of the animal as possible we sadly added the blood soaked tenderloins and thick section of the backstraps into the dog food bag. I have been using wild game scraps as dog food for years now. Since we switched to raw food it only made sense to take the ethically extra step to consume all of the animal. Once complete we loaded all the meat into the truck and continued home to Boise. I spent the evening butchering the two animals into my favorite cuts, packing and placing in the freezer. I was able to harvest multiple pounds of dog food, grind meat for jerky, backstrap steak loins, top round and bottom round roasts. The liver will also be consumed via dog treats as I have not found a method I enjoy consuming. The heart is all mine though as it is one of my favorite cuts. I want to thank IDFG for an ability to dispatch the suffering animal and salvage the meat. I know a lot of states have their reservations regarding this practice and I'm grateful that I live in a state that allows this humane practice. Now for the driver that hit this fawn and let it lay there injured and suffering, I hope they have thought long and hard about it, maybe even lost some sleep last night, and they adjust their moral compass. I had the means and methods to dispatch the animal, even if they did not have that they could of easily driven to the same location I did and spoke to the awesome gentlemen, biologist, that I did that could of ended the suffering even sooner.
Where
Location:
Decimal Degrees: 44.7,-116.8
Location Precision:
Estimated Precision (< 1km/0.6mi)
Location Resource:
Google Maps Click
Region:
Southwest Region
Game Management Unit:
22
County:
Washington
When
Date Time:
Sunday, December 13, 2020 - 8:30am
Date/Time Precision:
Day
How
Observation Method(s):
Individual(s) Observed (seen)
Observed Individual(s) in Hand or Close Range
Verification Status:
Unreviewed