Starvation

[Peter Hutcheson]

Hi All

This is not a tale of long distance hunting, but rather an observation from the other side of the Pond which might be of interest to all Hunters everywhere. I am sure that carelessness is not uniquely a Brit failing. I posted this on a UK Site previously...

I was stalking a couple of weeks ago, and noticed this Fallow Doe joining a group of about 20 that I was stalking into. She was feeding normally but was moving slowly, more slowly than the others, and looked to be thin, but not sickly apparently.

Any way, got close enough with a little patience, and put her on the grass. Noticed her haunches and pelvis were sticking out, and ribs evident, so got on with normal suspended gralloch. She appeared young, not pregnant, and when I got the gralloch on the ground her rumen appeared to contain hard snooker ball sized lumps together with a bunch of shredded black plastic, baler twine and polyprop rope.

This was revealed inside the rumen and the lumps were hard encysted grit.

Maybe she had been eating grit to try and shift the blockage? Any way she only weighed 42 lbs as opposed to around 65... and 0% kidney fat, so she'd been in trouble for some time by the looks of it. No other abnormalities noted, lymphatics all normal, lungs OK, no liver fluke.

So, lesson learned and ought to be propagated: If you see baler twine and cordage and plastic bags lying about..... pick them up and dispose of safely. This is no way for any animal to suffer due to Mans carelessness.

I guess I did her a favour.

Peter

 

[Coyboy]

Very good observations Peter, I would never had guessed.

 

[Roe Buck]

Pete
i have also had shot a deer (Roe) which swallowed bailing twine it had jammed in its intestines.Discoverd this once i had gralloched it as i was almost sick with the rotting smell!!
ohh nice set up on the 4x4

rb

 

[kcebcj]

Been picking bailing twine up in the mountains forever seems like. Horses get what's called "bailing twine colic" from eating twine and it's deadly.

Thanks for posting. Never hear anyone talking about these kinds of things. Everyone should be aware of the hazards of twine, plastic bags and such to the critters that live around us.

 

[royinidaho]

Plastic shopping bags are a problem also. They sometimes travel in the wind like kites.

BTW: for those of us separated by a common language....

gralloch |ˈgralək|
noun
the viscera of a dead deer.
verb [ trans. ]
disembowel (a deer that has been shot).
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Scottish Gaelic grealach 'entrails.'

 

[Roe Buck]

BTW: for those of us separated by a common language....

gralloch |ˈgralək|
noun
the viscera of a dead deer.
verb [ trans. ]
disembowel (a deer that has been shot).
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Scottish Gaelic grealach 'entrails.'

sorry for not translating if you get this one you get a gold star
Garron
this is the traditional method of extraction once you have shot your beast

all the best
rb

 

[royinidaho]

rb our traditions are a lot younger than ya'lls.

We just 'gut' 'em or politely said 'field dressed'.

 

[Peter Hutcheson]

sorry for not translating if you get this one you get a gold star
Garron
this is the traditional method of extraction once you have shot your beast

all the best
rb

Nice one RB, but not much call for 'hayburners' on the Sussex Downs , the wee Jimny seems to do the trick most days.
Best
Peter

 

[winmag]

Boy its a good thing this ''foreign language'' class has pictures or Id be lost
Great post Mr. Hutcheson, Im glad that sportsmen everywhere take the time to do the right thing because its the right thing to do. Great pics and explination of the cause of ailment too.
Oh and thanks to Roy, too for the ''websters'' translation, and the U.S. version of ''field dressing''.
Deer guts say alot...............

 

[scotsgun]

Give me a wee Jimny any day...friend has one and he continually amazes folks just how far off-road and in what conditions he takes it.
I regularly stalk an estate which still uses garrons - bloody garrons are foul tempered beasts. I swear their mood darkens in proportion to the weight of the red deer.

 

[Chas1]

I agree you don't often hear about these things. A good post, thanks for sharing. My gut tells me that most here on LRH not only take and discard their trash properly but, probably pick up other's trash along the way on hunts left behind by the less considerate.