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hi-power wrote:According to my new favorite site - municode.com:

Grapevine Municipal Code wrote:Sec. 6-15. - Duty to report injury or death of animals or fowl hit by vehicles.

Every person who strikes an animal or fowl with a vehicle and injures or kills such animal or fowl shall notify the animal control department immediately after the occurrence and shall give the time and place of the injury or death, a description of the animal or fowl and the name and address of the person making the report.

(Ord. No. 88-40, § 12, 6-7-88)

I agree that a lot of LEOs would probably prefer you to put the animal down with your bullets to save them the paperwork, but of course they'd have to give you permission first.

So while I might have ultimately been ok with shooting it I need to make sure I've got my ducks in a row first.

Again, timing is everything. If I call first, as opposed to some passing motoring calling in a "man with a gun" first, I would most likely be ok.

Definitely better to get permission rather than forgiveness in this case.

I'll come as close as I can to guaranteeing you that a G-vine officer would never authorize you to take the action yourself. Just a hunch. . .

...and, if the media got involved... an officer might have a memory lapse...probably better to, in a populated area, call it in and let the "powers that be" take it from there...I've known several times a county mountie ask a citizen to do the dirty deed to save him paperwork...but it was secluded and private...never known a state boy to ask the citizen to do it...

fickman wrote:I'll come as close as I can to guaranteeing you that a G-vine officer would never authorize you to take the action yourself. Just a hunch. . .

Yeah, I meant to say he could ask once the officer shows up. Like you say, the officer is probably not going to let the situation get turned into a roadside range session. But you can ask.

Being raised in the country, I have a whole different take on coyotes.

I was taught that a coyote is no different than a rattlesnake or a rabid skunk or coon--you plumb always kill 'em. When you've had newborn calves killed by coyotes, henhouses raided, and small dogs and cats disappear to coyotes, you learn to loathe them with every fiber in your body.

In the cities and larger towns, you're at the mercy of some rather idiotic laws contrived by city people whose only callouses on their hands came from playing golf. If I were to hit a coyote in town, I'd simply back up and run over him again to kill him. Much as I despise them (coyotes), I despise needless suffering even more.

In the country when we see a coyote ambling across a field or pasture, if I can take the shot safely (no livestock or houses behind the target), I'll take the shot. Where I come from in West Texas, you're doing everyone around--especially the ranchers and farmers--a huge favor. I've yet to see or even hear of law enforcement being called because someone was pulled over on the side of the road taking a shot at a coyote. Local dispatcher would probably just assume the caller was a big city yankee from Boston or someplace.

JD

..."civilization" sure does complicate simple things...

jdkinman wrote:Being raised in the country, I have a whole different take on coyotes.

I was taught that a coyote is no different than a rattlesnake or a rabid skunk or coon--you plumb always kill 'em. When you've had newborn calves killed by coyotes, henhouses raided, and small dogs and cats disappear to coyotes, you learn to loathe them with every fiber in your body.

In the cities and larger towns, you're at the mercy of some rather idiotic laws contrived by city people whose only callouses on their hands came from playing golf. If I were to hit a coyote in town, I'd simply back up and run over him again to kill him. Much as I despise them (coyotes), I despise needless suffering even more.

In the country when we see a coyote ambling across a field or pasture, if I can take the shot safely (no livestock or houses behind the target), I'll take the shot. Where I come from in West Texas, you're doing everyone around--especially the ranchers and farmers--a huge favor. I've yet to see or even hear of law enforcement being called because someone was pulled over on the side of the road taking a shot at a coyote. Local dispatcher would probably just assume the caller was a big city yankee from Boston or someplace.

JD

I agree, now don't get me wrong I'd probably holler "Look Out!" while hitting the gas and swerving towards the mangy 'ol yote. However, if he don't hear me in time he's outta luck.