Some hunters are hitting their target, but not with people left to clean up their mess. Illegal dumping of deer remains is once again causing problems.
“This is poaching plain and simple,” said Warren County Animal Control officer David Hennessee. “No real hunter takes what they want and dumps the rest. Poachers do that.”
Dumped on Laws Road were two bucks with specific parts missing. One deer was without a head, while the second was without antlers. Both had been slit down the back to remove a specific section.
Hennessee says he was sickened to see the animals.
“It’s disgusting,” he said. “Real hunters take their deer and have it processed. They don’t do this.”
These two carcasses were picked up by the Warren County Highway Department last week and taken to Animal Control’s facility to be properly buried. Laws Road is among three to four problem areas in Warren County where deer are routinely dumped by people who take what they want from them, but do not want to do what’s necessary with what remains, says Hennessee.
Along with having the appropriate hunting license, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency regulations state, “It is unlawful to move, transport or field dress any big game animal, except for wild hogs, without invalidating and attaching a properly completed temporary kill tag.”
What happens after a successful legal hunt? For most hunters, it means a trip to a local deer processor who takes the deer and reduces it to nice, neat packages of venison, says Hennessee.
For hunters who prefer to process the deer themselves, they must take the extra step and safely bury the carcass. Dumping the remains along local, county or state roads is unsightly, unhealthy, and illegal.