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Radnage expert James Darley offers advice on what to do if you hit a deer or find an injured animal
There is a widespread increase in deer numbers throughout the country. The various species are perhaps our most beautiful wild animals. But their very success and expansion has become recognised as a problem.
Overpopulation leads to poor condition and lowered survival of fawns, particularly in winter. Damage to woodland ranges from the decline of the under-storey habitat and reduced regeneration of native hardwoods from grazing, to losses in commercial softwood plantations through browsing and fraying. Standing crops are both eaten and trampled causing added losses for hard-pressed farmers, while a small risk of deer carrying bovine TB poses a much bigger risk to livestock farmers.
These issues may not be noticeable to most of us, but there is growing awareness of the increasing risk of collisions with vehicles. More than a few local residents will have either injured a deer, or come across one when driving, a distressing sight. Most will not know what to do about it or to whom to report it. This information is intended to fill that gap in knowledge, and maybe keep this article in the glove box of their car, in case of need.
I have been a recreational deer hunter (“stalker”), and had responsibility for managing wild populations of deer, for well over half a century. For the last nine years I’ve also been an authorised Humane Animal Dispatcher (HAD) for Thames Valley Police. Neighbouring police forces are building teams of experienced deer controllers, specially trained and equipped volunteers, to deal with injured deer that can neither be successfully treated nor rehabilitated. Police force armed response units are a scarce resource and need to be available for their regular duties, not deployed to attend animal dispatch incidents.
Such scenes could be in residential roads, motorways, parks and gardens; at night or in atrocious weather. I recently had a call-out at 4.30am for a roe doe hit by a motorbike. A compound fracture of a hind leg left no hope for her. In almost all situations, the first essential for a driver who has struck and injured a deer, or found one alive but immobile, is not to approach it. Its natural reaction will be to struggle into cover. Instead, call police. Ring 999: this is considered an emergency, and very likely a traffic hazard. To be clear, this is the correct approach – not a call to a vet or Tiggywinkles – to minimise suffering fast.
The police call handler will ask some questions, notably the location, if possible by use of What3Words (a free app to download). They will then assign the nearest available HAD to attend and take control of the scene, with police already present, to dispatch the animal by the most appropriate means, depending on the situation. The HAD is given the legal authority, and insurance, to operate in these circumstances, probably involving the use of a suitable firearm which in the absence of police authorisation would not be permitted in a public place. HADs are available for this necessary task 24/7.
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