Would you eat it

[Longbow Jake]

Dadgum sagebrush I about fell outa my seat laughin that was great.But I'm with alot of the others skin it then deside. But I'll be honest here if I had not come across this thread and got one like that I probably would left it in the woods    and felt terrible for it.

[slivrslingr]

Where I'm from, Oregon, you are required by law to tag it and recover the meat.  If you have doubts about the edibility of it and don't want to eat it, you can take to fish and wildlife and they can and likely will issue you a new tag.  Do the right thing!  A non-hunter that finds a carcass abandoned in the woods suddenly becomes an anti-hunter.

[Mojostick]

My guess is, if we saw all the cows, pigs and chickens we buy pre-packed at the grocery store every week, we'd see things that would make us puke.

[Looper]

Actually, those warts make good eating. They're quite flavorful and have a creamy texture in the middle.  The outsides are a little chewy, but they are very nutritious.

[Looper]

Just kidding. Eat the meat, but you might want to stay away from the warts.

Alternately, you could have it processed and give it to the local food pantry.  They'll never know.

[Hookeye]

Could still use it to feed your dogs, or donate the skinned animal to a big cat refuge or something.

[Hookeye]

I'm pretty scientific, but don't care....too visual a person, I wouldn't eat it (am a neat freak and borderline perfectionist).

Heck I freak out when I see how some people field dress and or process their deer.

[L. E. Carroll]

A observation if I may... In hunting with traditional archery equiptment, we usually find ourselves pretty close to the animals we take  or are about to take..  

[59Alaskan]

Interesting question Gene.  Do you shoot it to get it out of circulation with other deer?

[Mudd]

I think it looks like it could have been a torment to the animal and if I saw and thus made that determination in the woods I would have most likely out of a kindness to the animal, put it down.

Also not knowing if it is something that might be spread to the rest of the animals it might come in contact with, I would have put it down.

There isn't any way that a single bite could be forced through my lips. It hurts/turns my stomach just to look at the picture.(which I only did briefly)

I am glad to know it's out of the herd and I am also glad that I didn't have to be the one who took it out.

God bless,Mudd

PS: Yeppers you can call me squeamish!!!...I wouldn't eat something like that or grits...lol

[YORNOC]

You biologists and veterinarians out there, what is your opinion on the animals overall health (while still alive of course). Does a deer suffer from this type of condition? I understand the viewpoint to put it down to end it's misery...but what if it isn't suffering and it is a wrong assumption that it is suffering just because it's ugly as hell?
If thats the case I better be careful walking through the woods, I consider myself pretty ugly!
 I would rather let mother nature take it's course I think...she put it there. The weak are thinned out the natural way.

Did Manitoba Stickflinger REALLY say flavor pockets????????  I choked on that one!

[OBXarcher]

thanks for all the inputs.

Couple answers to points raised
I did not see the warts on it prior to shot. To focused on what I needed to do
I would have shot it any way. I live on the outer banks and we need deer killed. Way to many vehicle/deer accidents. I teach hunter safety class with the NC wildlife officers and they and our local biologists wants deer taken.
As you can tell the recovery was late and I was not armed with that biologist information at the time. I chose to leave it for the coon and fox to feast on. I enjoy processing deer and eating as much if not more than hunting it so this was not an easy decision. Knowing that information now I would keep and eat the next one like that. My son and I have shot a lot of deer on the outer banks and have never seen one like this before.
I did pull the jaw bone for the biologist they require that for our area.

[tradtusker]

if the meat was ok once skined i would eat it

[YORNOC]

Coons and foxes are worshipping a small shrine of you as we speak, whooping it up, singing, dancing, the feast is on!

[lpcjon2]

Without the biologist taking biopsy's of the assumed tumors,how would he know what they are.If you went and ate it and your family got sick how would you feel.It looks like great fertilizer for sure.And even things that grow on the skin start from inside the body with the organs.JMHO

[Wal]

Mudd has about summed me up as well, poor bugger looks to be in a better place I reckon, and seeing the pic there is no way I could eat that knowingly.

Cheers

[Wile E. Coyote]

In response to YORNOC.
 As a veterinarian I would say that unless the tumors are of extreme size (picture basketball, as they can get that size) or in a location that caused the animal distress (over eyes, interfering with limbs) then the animals do not "Suffer" from these tumors and don't need to be put out of their misery any more than a more cosmetic looking deer in the herd.

Based on the pics of this deer I would say that she was not pestered by the growths at all. One benefit of being an egoless creature. LOL

[OBXarcher]

Wile E are you serious calling it a she, did you see the massive rack ! LOL. biggest buck I ever shot on the Outer Banks.

Thinking about getting it mounted.

[YORNOC]

Definitely at least a nice little european mount anyway. I have my first trad buck mounted, spikehorn like this one. Just as proud of that as the others. (unfortunately, my kids named him "little petey!")
Thanks for the info Wile E....   SUPER GENIOUS!

[Wile E. Coyote]

Damn OBXarcher, didn't mean to dis your buck, was just so taken by the beauty bumps that I failed to look at the headgear. LOL