Humane despatch of animals on the public highway.

[ovenpaa]

Does anyone have specific wording regarding the use of a firearm for humane despatch whilst on the public highway. I have a condition to use .410 Slug for Deer however nothing for use actually on the highway and have been advised to call police control for an incident number before despatching the animal.

Anyone have any specific conditions for this or thoughts on the matter?

[breacher]

My only thought would be the legislation regarding shooting near a highway.

In England & Wales it is an offence without lawful authority or reasonable excuse to
discharge any firearm within fifty feet of the centre of a highway which consists of
or comprises a carriageway, and in consequence a user of the carriageway is
injured, interrupted or endangered. [Section 161(2) of the Highways Act 1980 as
amended.

This is a very vague wording and would be open to abuse by anyone who found your despatch of the animal distasteful or against their principles.

All they have to do is claim their passage was blocked by your actions and end up defending yourself in court against an offence involving use of firearms.

Having a police CAD number might help - ie they were informed, aware and were supportive of your actions ?

Better still would be the presence of an officer - that way it is the officer blocking the road and not you !

[ovenpaa]

Yes, my concern is the highway bit. I am on a register of RTA responders for incidents involving Deer and other animals involved in accidents. I can only respond to official requests such as the Police, RSPCA or a Vet and only via the control centre. I would hope there would always be a Police officer in attendance and a quick call to 101 and all is good. It is interesting that my Police will not issue a written authority or condition and will only do it on a case by case basis.

I must admit I am a tad twitchy about the legality of this even if called and accompanied by a Police officer.

[kennyc]

on the one occassion that I was in a position to carry out HD on an injured Deer (Muntjac with broken back) it was the attending Police officer who stopped me ! instead I had to restrain the poor bugger until a passing Vets nurse took it, poor thing kept trying to drag itself back into the carriageway......

[bradaz11]

It's hardle humane if you pitch up and have to wait 30 min for an answer is it? All the while watching the animal suffering unnecessarily

[Dahonis]

I deal with the incidents on a regular basis. My local 3 forces leave most of the HD to the vets. Unfortunately, the timescales are usually massive and the animal has often died. On the other side, police are very reluctant to do it themselves I have discovered many times over the years.

[Dahonis]

My only thought would be the legislation regarding shooting near a highway.

In England & Wales it is an offence without lawful authority or reasonable excuse to
discharge any firearm within fifty feet of the centre of a highway which consists of
or comprises a carriageway, and in consequence a user of the carriageway is
injured, interrupted or endangered. [Section 161(2) of the Highways Act 1980 as
amended.

This is a very vague wording and would be open to abuse by anyone who found your despatch of the animal distasteful or against their principles.

All they have to do is claim their passage was blocked by your actions and end up defending yourself in court against an offence involving use of firearms.

Having a police CAD number might help - ie they were informed, aware and were supportive of your actions ?

Better still would be the presence of an officer - that way it is the officer blocking the road and not you !

This is the part that is hard to prove.

[ovenpaa]

Here in Lincolnshire any and all incidents requiring HD are passed to the LDG (Lincolnshire Deer Group) The call goes to the controller who in turn calls whoever is on the list. The LDG also gets paid for this service and the money goes to the LDG, not the individual attending. The RSPCA and Police will pay the group directly if they have to make the call.

[Hunter87]

I deal with the incidents on a regular basis. My local 3 forces leave most of the HD to the vets. Unfortunately, the timescales are usually massive and the animal has often died. On the other side, police are very reluctant to do it themselves I have discovered many times over the years.

Police are Reluctant to do it themselves. What would they do it with?

[ovenpaa]

Here in Lincolnshire the location is tagged and called in and the Highways Department collect the carcass.