“The animal was not deprived of his natural liberty so as to be within Fenning’s control when Fargo gave the finishing shot. Fenning took the case to court - and lost. Fargo believed the deer was his because he fired the killing shot. Back on the deer’s trail next morning, Fenning came upon Fargo and his kill and argued his right to the buck because he had wounded it with a shot he believed would prove fatal. Fargo, shot the animal and finished it off. Six miles from where Fenning wounded it, a second hunter, Mr. Darkness was falling, so Fenning abandoned the chase and returned to camp. The deer fell but quickly rallied and disappeared with Fenning’s dogs in pursuit.
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“Pursuit alone vests in the sportsman no property in the animal pursued and even pursuit accompanied by wounding is equally ineffectual for the purpose, unless the animal is actually taken.” The English later adopted this law as their own, and in time, it spread to America as well. “One does not become the proprietor of a wild beast which he has wounded, but which he has not effectually taken,” he wrote. One early record comes down from Gaius, second-century Roman patriarch of modern lawmakers. Nevertheless, enough decisions have been handed down to establish legal precedents all deer hunters should understand. Related: What blood can tell you while tracking deer How are deer disputes handled in court?Įach case involves different circumstances, so no hard-and-fast rules govern such situations. Sometimes, hunters settle the matter to the both parties’ satisfaction, but other times a judge must decide the case. I felt strongly the deer should be mine, but didn’t want to cause a scene.” The landowner wounded the deer, but the animal would probably be alive if I hadn’t killed it. “He acted as if there was no doubt the deer was his. Nevertheless, the man took possession of the deer and left without discussion.
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This wound caused the deer’s hobbling but was not a killing shot. The man showed where his bullet had passed through the buck’s shoulder. “I shot him two hours ago and have been tracking him since,” the man said. Even before he spoke to my friend, he began tying a deer tag to the buck’s antlers. Thirty minutes had passed when the landowner walked up. One front leg was injured, but the buck was walking.
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When he first saw the whitetail, it was limping. A friend of mine killed a huge trophy buck on private property where he paid the landowner for hunting privileges.