Carcass Etiquette

[huntinsonovagun]

I have a tag for a unit with a fair amount of WIHA. What do the ranchers prefer we do with carcasses upon harvest? Drag them to a low spot? I looked through the regs and didn’t really find anything. If it were my property, I’d probably prefer they’re hauled to a ditch or something...

 

[wytex]

Depends if that ditch is a water source or not, big no if it is. We just drag them some distance from the road . Ditches are good cover for a stalk and coming up on a stinky carcass can be unpleasant. Leave it out in the open and maybe get a chance at a coyote or other scavenger later.
Hide and bones will be all that's left pretty soon , don't want the bones by a road.

 

[wyoelkfan15]

If you're hunting WIA with fields most ranchers/farmers appreciate if you at least drag the carcass to the edge of their fields.

 

[Hunting Wife]

If it’s in a hay or ag field, I usually move it to the field edge so no one has to work around it. If it’s on rangeland or public, I usually leave it where it is. If it was close to a road, I may move it to a less conspicuous location but that’s not something I’ve ever had to worry about. If I haul the carcass out of the field, it is disposed of at the landfill. I really hate driving to public land and seeing carcasses dumped everywhere. Very bad practice from a disease standpoint, and just aesthetically disrespectful in general.

 

[Arcola]

I actually spoke with a Wyoming warden about this last year. I saw so many antelope and deer carcasses right in the ditch, that I became curious as to whether this was an unwritten type of etiquette. Upon asking about this, I found out that this is generally frowned upon for aesthetic reasons. His response pretty well mirrored Hunting Wife's comments. Public: let it lay. WIA: drag it to a field edge.