There are over 100
New Forest animal accidents each year.
- please take care.
NEW FOREST ANIMAL ACCIDENTS
Once you have read this horrendous story, if you want to add your comment please fill in the form at the bottom of the page.
This article was in the Horse and Hound online magasine - a two year old filly was decapitated by a car driver - please drive slowly and more carefully on the New Forest.
Horse and Hound article
Accidents on the forest roads, involving ponies and other animals are often the result of beautiful winter sunsets, like the one above and the early dark nights.
They can be very bad news for the ponies and other animals. Road deaths or injuries involving the animals you see every day and grow to love, are the worst part of living on the forest.
A friend of mine, a Commoner, lost a 6 week old foal. It was a hit and run, probably by a lorry, which may or may not have known it hit the poor little chap. It was also probably instantaneous, which is better. However, this was the mares first baby ever and so her trauma was extreme.
New Forest road deaths rise year on year. I find it
horrible and extemely upsetting (who wouldn't!) to see dead or dying victims either in or beside the road - especially when it could often be avoided.
These road deaths should be extemely rare. The ponies,
donkeys, cows and pigs have the right to roam the Forest
and they should always be given the right of way.
The autumn clock change is the most dangerous time for all the New Forest animals!
I've met people who think the animals are a nuisance!
How amazing is that? I've also been advised to "drive on"
if I hit one, rather than incur a large fine - as if I could drive on.
To me living on the New Forest is a privilege - the fact that I
am surrounded by ponies, donkeys, cows and pigs in a beautiful
environment is a unique privilege - why would I not respect
this?
The really sad fact is that many of these
incidents are caused by local people.
They often either live within the
National Park or on its borders
and so cut across it to go to work etc.
Visitors tend to view the forest as the
unique place it is and slow down
to see the beauty of a donkey or piglet
crossing the road in front of them.
Here are some steps you can take if driving on the forest roads
- Slow down - the speed limit is 40m.p.h (30m.p.h in some areas)
- Take extra care at night - most incidents happen at night
- Look out for reflective neckbands - it means an animal so slow down
- If you witness an accident - report it - there is a £1000 reward for
information leading to a successful prosecution - they may take more care next time
New Forest animal accidents to ponies, donkeys, cows, pigs and deer can be
reported using this really handy new card which has been produced by the
New Forest National Parks Authourity
I've downloaded it and keep it in my car:
This
Emergency card for New Forest animal accidents
will open a 2 page PDF document which you can print off and save.
(Go to the top of the page and page down to 2 for the next page and the emergency numbers)
Just in case you may have trouble printing this off here are the numbers:
- Police Emergency 24 hrs 999 for all road traffic accidents
- Police Non emergency 0845 045 4545
- Forestry Commission (Deer) 24 hrs 023 8028 3141
- Verderers Office 9am to 5pm Mon to Fri 023 8028 2052
Verderers Out of Hours 023 8028 283141
When you drive on the roads you may see a yellow triangle by
the roadside. This means one (or more) ponies, donkeys, cows or pigs may have been killed or seriously injured within the last week.
It will look like this
This may be an area where road kill or injury figures are high so please take extra care - you never know what might be round the next corner, but you can be sure they have no road sense at all!
Please help to make the coming seasons as safe
as possible on the roads.
Help to keep all the ponies, donkeys, cows and
pigs (and piglets) safe.
We can enjoy seeing them each time we go out
into the beautiful and unique New Forest....
.... and know we've played our part in keeping them safe.
I know there are many horse riders and owners who either live or visit the New Forest UK National Park. I have just discovered a really wonderful information source for us to use.
The
British Horse Society
has recently set up a website for reporting equestrian incidents. It is called
Horse Accidents.
- You can report an incident throughout the UK via a handy online map
- It can cover road accidents, dog attacks, gates, fireworks, low flying aircraft, slippery surfaces, wind farms. The Free Text Box allows you to log other types of incidents too
- By reporting these incidents you are helping to provide statistics which may help improve legislation for the horse and rider in the future
- Advice and Prevention information can help keep us safe for either off or on road riding
- Online mapping shows you where recent accidents and incidents have occurred - you may be visiting an area with your horse and discover that part of the route you hoped to ride has a history of incidents
- The About Horse Accidents page tells you why it is vital to collate animal accidents in this way. If your incident cannot be classified it can still be logged via the website and passed on to the safety team
I think this is a great resource. I hope it can ensure that the pleasure we get from horse riding can become safer and be backed up by more relevant legislation to protect both horse, rider and road user in the future.
Share your views on New Forest animal accidents.
What are your views on the New Forest accidents each year? Share it here!
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
If you want to search New Forest Life.com without using the navigation bars on the left, then here's a really useful Google tool.
Just put your search details e.g. pigs in the search box and hit Search and you can choose to search my site or go onto the Web and come back to NewForest-Life.com.
|
