Deceased deer

steve-on-mark · 10-06-2025, 10:59 AM

Here's a question...an island neighbor reached out telling me there's a deceased doe on the property adjacent to theirs. Apparently, it's starting to smell pretty bad, and they're not sure what to do with it. They called Fish and Game, but they don't handle that kind of thing. Any thoughts on what to do with this?

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ishoot308 · 10-06-2025, 12:23 PM

Drag it to the middle of the woods and let mother nature take care of it…

Dan

Biggd · 10-06-2025, 12:27 PM

You need to dig a hole somewhere and bury it or it will continue to smell for weeks.

fatlazyless · 10-06-2025, 01:03 PM

On second thought, doing nothing and just leaving it out there in the woods on Mark Island could be good-to-go. A dead deer in the woods out there will probably attract crows, eagles, coyotes, and maybe a hungry black bear that will gnaw it down to its bones and less.

Seems that crows are especially good at finding a dead deer, and their scavenger activity alerts other animals to the carcass eating.

thinkxingu · 10-06-2025, 01:03 PM

Those two above are the options, but if choosing to dig, bury it deep as, otherwise, animals will dig it up and/or the smell will still be present.

Also, make sure it's not close to a water supply.

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LIforrelaxin · 10-06-2025, 05:53 PM

On an island and in the woods I am expecting finding any govt. agency to do something about it, is unlikely....

The other options here all work to some degree....

JayR · 10-07-2025, 08:00 AM

Steve, please pass along my condolences to those folks, regarding the missed opportunity to enjoy yummy venison all winter. And second, I second the idea of digging the hole (though if it was me, I would keep procrastinating until the thing just freezes in a month or two)

Puck · 10-08-2025, 10:27 AM

Most islands exist because they are knobs of ledge and rocks the glacier failed to move. Have fun digging that hole. Set up a game camera to take pictures of the wildlife that show up to take advantage of the extra calories before winter. I would bet on mink and eagles showing up. Most islands won't be big enough to have larger predator/scavengers unless the smell is enough for them to make the swim.

DickR · 10-08-2025, 06:11 PM

A couple of winters ago, I noticed a dead deer one morning out a couple hundred feet from shore, on the snow-covered ice. From the blood trail, it appeared to have suffered an attack by a predator (coyotes?) and perhaps pursued to where the carcass lay. I called F&G and was told to let nature take its course. Over the following days, other wildlife, most often birds, picked away at the remains. A couple of times I saw an eagle going to work on it, with many other birds waiting for their turn, unwilling to challenge the big guy. The carcass kept shrinking, down to very little left. I guess the bones sank when the ice went out. Nature wastes nothing.

SAB1 · 10-08-2025, 08:43 PM

We had one die right beside lake that stunk. Called F&G and asked how to get rid of it. They told us to stick it with a sharp object to let the gas out, tie a rope on it and tow it out in the lake and cut the rope.

10-06-2025, 10:59 AM	#1
steve-on-mark Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Epping, NH / Mark Island Posts: 1,895 Thanks: 189 Thanked 738 Times in 431 Posts	Deceased deer Here's a question...an island neighbor reached out telling me there's a deceased doe on the property adjacent to theirs. Apparently, it's starting to smell pretty bad, and they're not sure what to do with it. They called Fish and Game, but they don't handle that kind of thing. Any thoughts on what to do with this? Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk __________________ ....keeping " urban decay " out of photos for nearly 3 years!

10-06-2025, 12:23 PM	#2
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 6,363 Thanks: 2,421 Thanked 5,345 Times in 2,092 Posts	Drag it to the middle of the woods and let mother nature take care of it… Dan __________________ It's Always Sunny On Welch Island!!

10-06-2025, 01:03 PM	#4
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,879 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 304 Thanked 1,043 Times in 761 Posts	On second thought, doing nothing and just leaving it out there in the woods on Mark Island could be good-to-go. A dead deer in the woods out there will probably attract crows, eagles, coyotes, and maybe a hungry black bear that will gnaw it down to its bones and less. Seems that crows are especially good at finding a dead deer, and their scavenger activity alerts other animals to the carcass eating. Last edited by fatlazyless; 10-07-2025 at 08:33 AM.

10-06-2025, 05:53 PM	#6
LIforrelaxin Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Texas, Lake Ray Hubbard and NH, Long Island Winnipesaukee Posts: 2,912 Thanks: 1,048 Thanked 900 Times in 530 Posts	On an island and in the woods I am expecting finding any govt. agency to do something about it, is unlikely.... The other options here all work to some degree.... __________________ Life is about how much time you can spend relaxing... I do it on an island that isn't really an island.....

10-07-2025, 08:00 AM	#7
JayR Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Westwood, MA and sometimes Gilford, NH Posts: 67 Thanks: 23 Thanked 22 Times in 13 Posts	Steve, please pass along my condolences to those folks, regarding the missed opportunity to enjoy yummy venison all winter. And second, I second the idea of digging the hole (though if it was me, I would keep procrastinating until the thing just freezes in a month or two) __________________ Jay R. (Westwood, MA) "Faithfully losing the ice-out contest since 1975"

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to ishoot308 For This Useful Post:
Descant (10-06-2025), LIforrelaxin (10-06-2025), Slickcraft (10-06-2025)

10-06-2025, 12:27 PM	#3
Biggd Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Waltham Ma./Meredith NH Posts: 4,254 Thanks: 2,300 Thanked 1,228 Times in 786 Posts	You need to dig a hole somewhere and bury it or it will continue to smell for weeks.

10-06-2025, 01:03 PM	#5
thinkxingu Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 6,429 Thanks: 1,180 Thanked 2,136 Times in 1,324 Posts	Those two above are the options, but if choosing to dig, bury it deep as, otherwise, animals will dig it up and/or the smell will still be present. Also, make sure it's not close to a water supply. Sent from my SM-S931U using Tapatalk

10-08-2025, 10:27 AM	#8
Puck Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Central NH Posts: 98 Thanks: 0 Thanked 78 Times in 20 Posts	Most islands exist because they are knobs of ledge and rocks the glacier failed to move. Have fun digging that hole. Set up a game camera to take pictures of the wildlife that show up to take advantage of the extra calories before winter. I would bet on mink and eagles showing up. Most islands won't be big enough to have larger predator/scavengers unless the smell is enough for them to make the swim.

10-08-2025, 06:11 PM	#9
DickR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 758 Thanks: 4 Thanked 260 Times in 172 Posts	A couple of winters ago, I noticed a dead deer one morning out a couple hundred feet from shore, on the snow-covered ice. From the blood trail, it appeared to have suffered an attack by a predator (coyotes?) and perhaps pursued to where the carcass lay. I called F&G and was told to let nature take its course. Over the following days, other wildlife, most often birds, picked away at the remains. A couple of times I saw an eagle going to work on it, with many other birds waiting for their turn, unwilling to challenge the big guy. The carcass kept shrinking, down to very little left. I guess the bones sank when the ice went out. Nature wastes nothing.

The Following User Says Thank You to DickR For This Useful Post:
Slickcraft (10-08-2025)

10-08-2025, 08:43 PM	#10
SAB1 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Tuftonboro Posts: 1,253 Thanks: 193 Thanked 334 Times in 242 Posts	We had one die right beside lake that stunk. Called F&G and asked how to get rid of it. They told us to stick it with a sharp object to let the gas out, tie a rope on it and tow it out in the lake and cut the rope.