The right decision was made. Remember one important thing...it was a animal, just an animal. It sounds coldhearted but an animal is not worth dying for. A calculated and safe salvage operation was made and the problem was resolved. The slightest chances of the bullet missing its target and going down range potentiallycausing harm is not worth the risk of squeesing off the round, let alone the mercy shot it was intended for. It was a animal for goodness sake. The chief wasn't saving the animal to get a gold star from PETA, he was doing it to prevent any other emotionally charged person from making what was a sad natural act of nature into a traumatic loss of a human life. When a potential civilian rescuer(s) becomes a victim itmake a situation that much more traumatic.
In some cases of Fish and Game, they have policies regarding such occurances. I'd be interested in seeing what their efforts would be according to policy.
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