Feeding Deer hit by car

[jvw]

This morning someone hit and killed a deer out front of our house. I was wondering if there was any reason I shouldn't butcher it and feed it to the dogs (after getting permision from whatever legal authority needs to sign off). I sort of remember hearing that deer hit by car are NOT good to feed. But I'm not sure.

 

Actually, its too late to get this deer as its already gone. But I'm sure there will be more and I'd like to know for the future.

 

Thanks

Jennifer

[juliepoudrier]

Hi Jennifer,

I don't know what laws regarding road kill (if any) exist in your state, but the only thing I would be concerned about is chronic wasting disease in deer. CWD is a form of transmissble spongiforme encephalopathy (TSE), like scrapie and BSE. If the deer is not overly thin, it's probably not a problem, but it is something to be aware of when butchering a deer, especially if you didn't observe its behavior or condition before it died. This link has info on safely butchering deer:

 

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/deer/cwd/index.html

 

J.

[Alicia]

I'd be careful, I heard when they are hit that often internal organs are damaged and they release toxins that damage the meat making it unsafe. But I could be wrong. Not sure.

[shelb'smum]

you have a strong stomach

[Wendy V]

Hi Jen,

 

I have often wondered this myself. Chronic Wasting Disease is not a concern in Michigan. I would be concern about spoilage if you are uncertain about the time of death. Ideally, one would want to gut it within 30 minutes, maybe longer if freezing outside. With trauma, there can be organ rupture, which can contaminate the meat, but I'm sure the dogs wouldn't mind, though it would be unfit for human consumption.

 

As an aside, my DH waited 2 hours to gut a fresh kill in warm weather (long story, forgot his hunting knife and had to drag the beast for a mile) and the meat was fine; delicious actually.

[AK dog doc]

I'd agree with Julie that you want to be careful of any transmissable diseases of local concern (we don't have CWD up here, either, but we have tapeworms a-plenty, for example). That said, though, in AK there's actually a road-kill list that you can sign up for; a few hundred moose get mowed down each year, unfortunately, and if you're on the list you get a call so you can go out and butcher the carcass. I don't know 100% for certain what people do with the meat once they have it in their freezer, but I'm FAIRLY certain they're serving it ON the table, not under it. A moose is generally a pretty sizey critter, so perhaps they "condemn" certain portions, based on damage to the meat, and eat the rest; however, I'm pretty sure that the dogs aren't getting much of the meat-bearing carcass. So just having been hit by a car in and of itself doesn't seem to affect the edibility of the meat. Of course, since the majority of road-kill in moose is in the winter, it does lengthen the "harvest window"; it's certainly not getting all spoiled by the hot weather. Plus I believe there's some rule (whether written or by convention) about pulling the gut pile some distance from the road, so that the scavengers get their share without risking the same fate.

 

At any rate, while it's a shame that animals get hit and killed on the roads, it's maybe a bigger shame to let their deaths be for nothing, so some useful destiny for the carcass seems like a good thing. If I were feeding game meat to my dogs, however, personally, I'd be cooking it thoroughly to avoid some of the diseases, and I'd also not be feeding neurological tissue regardless. Prions scare me, and since I can't know FOR SURE that there aren't any in that brain, I'm just not taking the chance. I would imagine that the local Fish and Game or DNR would have guidelines for handling and processing game, and would know what is and is not legal. JMO.

[Barb Scott]

Gun Season started today in MI and the deer are running like crazy! You do need permission to keep road kill, even if you are the one who killed it! There is some TB here in MI; it depends on the county.

Barb S

[Pat W.]

I have often considered this option as I feed raw and live in an area reasonably well populated by deer. I know that in Pa we dont have the wasting disease. Where would I look or who would I contact inorder to find out about getting ahold of a roadkill. Also I dont know thing one about gutting a deer.

[jvw]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll just hope no more get hit out front of my house and I'll ask some hunters I know for leftovers.

 

Jennifer

[Maralynn]

Pat,

Try contacting your local police department, or the DNR in your state. They can probably point you in the right direction. I believe in MI you need to get a road kill permit (or something like that) from the local police to take a road killed deer for personal use.

 

All I can say about gutting is YUCK! I can't help you there!

[AK dog doc]

Pat, even if you don't have CWD in your area, PLEASE don't feed raw game meat. There are plenty of other things in raw game meat that might be a bit nasty should your dogs get it. (TB, tularemia, hydatid tapeworm disease, etc....) Deer are not USDA inspected. Even USDA inspected raw (commercially prepared) diets have pathogenic bacteria in up to 53% of tested diets, in one study I recently read. Although the shorter gut-transit time in dogs may help protect them from some pathogens, it won't protect them from others. By all means put the game meat to good use, but I personally would very strongly advise cooking it before feeding it.

[Alicia]

Dont alot of people feed raw meat to their Raw diet dogs during hunting season?

[Catu]

I will add to avoid the zones damaged by the car. By example, if a leg bone is broken, discard the whole leg. Discard the zones where you see hematomaes too. The decomposition on this areas is quicker, because of the blood infiltrated on the muscle.

 

I would discard the entire animal if the death is not instantanean too and as been said, cook it, if you want to freeze it, you can frezze it once cooked too.

[Wendy V]

AK: Thanks for your input. TB is not an issue in the county where JVW lives, nor is CWD. I will have to look up the two other diseases/parasites you mention.

 

I've been feeding raw deer meat every fall for years. It is the same meat we feed to ourselves, though we cook ours to medium-rare and jerk most of it. I don't feed the gut and I freeze the carcass before feeding. Avoiding neuro tissue is probably a good idea and one must be careful about leg bones, as they will crack teeth. Allow the dog to clean the meat off the bone, then toss.

 

Butchering isn't as bad as one may think, especially if you have a place to hang the creature. A saws-all is handy but is not necessary if you have a good cleaver. The meat is easier to cut when partially frozen. You will most likely feed portions that are larger than normal, so a feed and fast routine may be necessary.

[jrid]

I would bet that in the county I live in, more deer are killed by vehicle than by hunters. No one wants to kill Bambi, but you can't help it when they jump out in front of your car. There are some coyotes around here, but they have not put a dent in deer population.

[Kitch]

AK Doc - how does freezing impact the pathogens? I haven't fed deer to my dogs yet, but was planning on it if my brothers got any this year. I usually freeze any meat for a few weeks prior to feeding it to my guys though.

 

Pat W - double check on the CWD in your area. It is becoming more and more of a concern in NY, especially along the southern tier. It is bound to cross into PA sometime, if it hasn't already.

[prosperia]

Oh, I read the title and thought you were asking what you were supposed to feed a deer, because you had hit one and was nursing it back. Geesh, dont I feel stupid. I was wondering. . .how on earth they were keeping the animal controled. As for the ? I dont really know. I was seconds away from hitting a big ole turkey yesterday. It just hopped out in front of me and took flight at the last second. I hit the brakes, but if I hadnt, I would have had a nice roadkilled turkey for Thanksgiving.

And speaking of the start of hunting season. . Man yesterday was crazy! I'd hate to be a deer this weekend. I drove up on some illegal stuff yesterday while I was on the route. There were men lined up on either side of the road just standing there with their guns. It really freaked me out. Talk about uncomfortable. They looked like some kind of militia, but dh said that they were probably waiting for the dogs to run the deer across the road so they would have a clear shot. And all the gunfire that I heard so close to the road. I kept imagining all those stray bullets. I even heard a rapid fire pistol out there in the woods. Definitely NOT a shotgun.

[Anda]

Prosperia, that sure was a scarry experience! Glad you drove away from them without any incidents!