Not sure that this is the right forum, but it seems here's where the legally minded people on INGO gather...
If you hit an animal on the road, or if you see a terminally injured animal, what can you do to put it out of its misery? What are the legal implications if you do?
I suppose we can't shoot an animal if we're in a town/city. Would we go to jail if we slit the throat of a deer we hit? Are there hunting laws or animal abuse laws we need to be aware of?
For me a big question is whether the animal will survive the accident. Last year some guy ran over a cat, shot it a few times, and the cat survived. It then seems to me he made the wrong decision. Maybe he wanted to put the cat out of its suffering, but he ends up looking like an animal abuser, which he might have been. On the other hand, I've seen animals slowly expire in front of me, and I wish I could have done something to speed its passing.
If you hit an animal on the road, or if you see a terminally injured animal, what can you do to put it out of its misery? What are the legal implications if you do?
I suppose we can't shoot an animal if we're in a town/city. Would we go to jail if we slit the throat of a deer we hit? Are there hunting laws or animal abuse laws we need to be aware of?
For me a big question is whether the animal will survive the accident. Last year some guy ran over a cat, shot it a few times, and the cat survived. It then seems to me he made the wrong decision. Maybe he wanted to put the cat out of its suffering, but he ends up looking like an animal abuser, which he might have been. On the other hand, I've seen animals slowly expire in front of me, and I wish I could have done something to speed its passing.