Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

I have wondered before what would happen if a guy was hunting timber land near a public road legally, legally shoots a trophy deer of a lifetimewith an arrow, and in the process of the deer running after the shot, the deer runs onto the road or hwy and causes an accident. Is the hunter liable? He was hunting legally. If a person hits a deer with their car under normal hunting conditions the state owns the deer and the person has no claim against the state. The state still owns the deer until it is tagged, correct, or since you shooting the deer caused the deer to run is it your fault? Once you tagged the deer, then have you accepted ownership &responsibility for the accident in the laws' eyes?
I used a trophy deer as an example as I figured too many would justsay leavethe area,get in your truck, and deny everything.

More and more of us are getting involved in urban hunts and a lot of hunters hunt close to busy roads. This could happen to anybody.

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

Well, you can tell that we all have some time on our hands ;)

I can't imagine that the hunter would be held liable. I think that one would have to be treated as any deer strike. The hunter didn't cause the deer to run in the road. It could have just as easily gone any other direction. Now, that doesn't mean that someone couldn't try to get you in civil court, but anything goes there. I am no lawyer though... thank goodness:D

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

Wouldn't see this as any different than someone on a walk in the woods near a highway and spooks a deer out of its bed onto a road. I don't think you could be held liable in either instance.

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

In Kansas, you legally have to call the cops or a game warden to report the accident and to aquire a salavge tag if you want to keep the deer. Thats if you were the one in the vehicle who hit the deer. I have no idea how it would play out if a hunter was involved. That would be my luck to shoot a trophy deer and have some one run him over right after the hit!!![8D]

That would be a good question to email to the fish and game. See what they say... Hows yourankle doing?

Chief

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

If the car broke my rack I am going to hold him or herliable[:@]

I can tell you every deer I shot runs for cover, not much cover on a road;)

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

Did you think of this while heavly medicated??[:-]

I'd call it an act of god, just like if the deer hadn't been shot. You cannot directly cause a deer to move ina direction of your choice by shooting it. It goes where it wants. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!;)

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

What if you're playing hockey on a frozen pond......you shoot one for the 3-hole and miss, terribly....wounding a spotted owl who was just gettin some nooky and enjoying the fisticuffs? The owl then disengages himself and flutters into a thicket that holds not 7.....but EIGHT big pronghorns just home from the prom. They bolt into the highway and notice the deer about to be hit by a car.....and save him.....but one of their antlers gets caught in your SUV antennae and it flips him wildly into oncoming traffic. the flipping speed goat then lands....(feet first, mind you....) in a cattle carrier that's been commissioned to haul Aardvarks......yes...I said Aardvarks.....to the zoo opener.

How much should they charge for admission?

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

i never really thought of that. though i know someone that had something similar happen. deer came out of a drive and cut out across open fields and ran about 500yds to get hit on a highway. the drivers heard it all and beat their feet over there and put the deer down(it ran back down the bank to the fields and was badly injured) tagged and took the deer...the driver was poed and blamed the drivers..not sure if they waited for the cops or not.


i really never thought of it though that accident took place as they were driving out one of my favorite rut archery spots. and i do alot of hunting near roads. hard to avoid them at home. just never crossed my mind. i think more about my deer running into someones backyard to die. i wouldnt want anyone that doesnt hunt to have that happen to them..and wouldnt want them to keep me from tagging and taking my deer.

i dont see how you could be held liable weather you shot it or spooked it or whatever. not like you MADE the deer run in that direction. the day of that drive they were about 500yds away from the road and driving parallel with the road. who would think a deer would run 500yds of open fields?? they are supposed to run the creek bottom in that drive. anything can happen though

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

I forget the name of thefamous fox case, but if my memory is right, ownership of a downed game animal doesn't attach until it's actually dead.As long as it's still on its feet, it is still property of the state. I just don't see howa hunter could be liable for the actions of a state-owned, independent, unpredictableentity (like a deer).

On the other hand:If an experiencedhunter should unleash an instrumentality that foreseeably produces a high likelihood of the wounded deer stumbling into a roadway, I could see how there's a breach of duty of care running from the hunter to motorists passing by. It only seems reasonable that a guy sitting in a treestand along a highway DOES have some duty to refrain from engaging in anything likely to put passing motorists in jeopardy. Duty Breach Causation Damage.

I guess if you view a deer as a wholly unpredictable entity, then it gives Joe Hunter carte blanche to act without regard to passing motorists, as the deer itself will make the volitional decision to leap into traffic or not. On the other hand, if you know that your deer drive is likely to push a herd across the turnpike, and potentially result in an automobile collision, you're taking a known risk, disregarding it and negligently proceeding. It's really not muchdifferent than standing on the highway embankment and rolling a tire down the hill, knowing that there's a good chance that the tire stays upright long enough to enter the lanes of travel and create a perilous situation.

I do happen to know that the owner of livestock that wanders into a roadway is liable for damage caused by his negligence. Liability can also attach to a licensee (maybe a utility employee) who leaves a farm gate open, and the horse wanders into the roadway. People can be liable for acts of animals that were under their control. BUT, is a deer really an instrumentality under the control of the hunter. I would say that it certainly can be, in some circumstances.

Stumper.

RE: Question, hunting near roads or hwys??
 

In your scenario a hunter would not be liable.