My car killed an animal earlier. Now what?

Aretnap

Alanp said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but if you kill say a pheasant with your car, you are not allowed to take it home to eat it( should you be so inclined) , but the person following you can…

sheramber said:

Yes, it has been mentioned.

It is not only pheasants.

Applies to deer as well. A friend fed her dogs on the roadkill deer on the road where she lived after she kept the good bits for the family freezer.

It's an urban myth. At least it's definitely an urban myth as far as deer go - the law is explicit that you're only allowed to take a deer carcass if you have the landowner's permission. It makes no difference which car you were travelling in.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/54/section/1/enacted

I'm fairly sure it's an urban myth as far as other animals go as well - it's the sort of thing that's endlessly repeated on internet forums despite nobody ever being able to quote the law that says this, or even link to a vaguely reliable secondary source to confirm it. I'm willing to be corrected if anybody can actually find the law that says this.

user1977

Aretnap said:

Alanp said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but if you kill say a pheasant with your car, you are not allowed to take it home to eat it( should you be so inclined) , but the person following you can…

sheramber said:

Yes, it has been mentioned.

It is not only pheasants.

Applies to deer as well. A friend fed her dogs on the roadkill deer on the road where she lived after she kept the good bits for the family freezer.

It's an urban myth. At least it's definitely an urban myth as far as deer go - the law is explicit that you're only allowed to take a deer carcass if you have the landowner's permission. It makes no difference which car you were travelling in.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/54/section/1/enacted

Though if the land in question is a (public) road, presumably the "occupier" is the roads authority, and why wouldn't you have a reasonable belief that the roads authority would be content for you to clear the carcass from the road? I doubt the council have a sideline in selling roadkill venison.

AdrianC

user1977 said:

 I doubt the council have a sideline in selling roadkill venison.

If they thought it was a viable revenue stream...

Ditzy_Mitzy

lincroft1710 said:

unforeseen said:

If you hit cattle or a horse then you would probably be notifying the authorities from your hospital bed

Not necessarily.


Back in the late 1950s my father hit a New Forest pony in a hire car (old style Ford Popular 103E), the pony limped away, the Pop had wing and headlight damage, parents and myself unhurt.

I wonder if the severity of your particular accident was reduced because of the light weight of the Pop?  It would have carried much less energy into the collision than a modern car, which is fortunate for the pony!  Glad it survived and hope it wasn't badly injured.  

Car_54

user1977 said:

Aretnap said:

Alanp said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but if you kill say a pheasant with your car, you are not allowed to take it home to eat it( should you be so inclined) , but the person following you can…

sheramber said:

Yes, it has been mentioned.

It is not only pheasants.

Applies to deer as well. A friend fed her dogs on the roadkill deer on the road where she lived after she kept the good bits for the family freezer.

It's an urban myth. At least it's definitely an urban myth as far as deer go - the law is explicit that you're only allowed to take a deer carcass if you have the landowner's permission. It makes no difference which car you were travelling in.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/54/section/1/enacted

Though if the land in question is a (public) road, presumably the "occupier" is the roads authority, and why wouldn't you have a reasonable belief that the roads authority would be content for you to clear the carcass from the road? I doubt the council have a sideline in selling roadkill venison.

There is a world of difference between clearing the road and taking the deer home. The latter is theft.

Ditzy_Mitzy

[Deleted User] said:

user1977 said:

Aretnap said:

Alanp said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but if you kill say a pheasant with your car, you are not allowed to take it home to eat it( should you be so inclined) , but the person following you can…

sheramber said:

Yes, it has been mentioned.

It is not only pheasants.

Applies to deer as well. A friend fed her dogs on the roadkill deer on the road where she lived after she kept the good bits for the family freezer.

It's an urban myth. At least it's definitely an urban myth as far as deer go - the law is explicit that you're only allowed to take a deer carcass if you have the landowner's permission. It makes no difference which car you were travelling in.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/54/section/1/enacted

Though if the land in question is a (public) road, presumably the "occupier" is the roads authority, and why wouldn't you have a reasonable belief that the roads authority would be content for you to clear the carcass from the road? I doubt the council have a sideline in selling roadkill venison.

There is a world of difference between clearing the road and taking the deer home. The latter is theft.

Theft?  No!  If you dress well, smell nice and are willing to buy a few drinks you might find the deer is more than willing to go home with you...

Alanp

I understand that it’s the local council that is responsible, and it’s unlikely they’ll Perdue you if you took a road kill home. After all, you’re doing their job for them

Car_54

Alanp said:

I understand that it’s the local council that is responsible, and it’s unlikely they’ll Perdue you if you took a road kill home. After all, you’re doing their job for them

Perdue?

The council may be responsible  for clearing the road, but that doesn't entitle them (or anyone else) to steal my deer.

ontheroad1970

Alanp said:

I understand that it’s the local council that is responsible, and it’s unlikely they’ll Perdue you if you took a road kill home. After all, you’re doing their job for them

The council may be responsible for upkeep of the road, but the land it is on may still belong to someone else.  

AdrianC

[Deleted User] said:

Alanp said:

I understand that it’s the local council that is responsible, and it’s unlikely they’ll Perdue you if you took a road kill home. After all, you’re doing their job for them

Perdue?

Perhaps "pursue"?