That horrible feeling

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Don't you just hate that horrible feeling you get when you accidently hurt a wild animal

I was driving the works van today through the Lincolnshire countryside, when i went over the crest of a hill in the road, there 10 ft in front of me where around 5-6 tiny baby Lapwing right in the middle of the road, there was nothing i could do i went back to check the scene and found i'd ran over 2 of the babies. Moved them into the side so they wouldn't get totally squised. The only positive thing i can think is that a Weasel ran across the road a few metres away, so hopefully they'll be food for some other creature and won't have died in vain. I said sorry to the mother Lapwing that was calling and hope the other ones are ok

It's a horrible feeling and one i'm sure others have had

[Wild-Woman]

Sounds like if it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else that had that misfortune and they probably wouldn't have been so thoughtful about stopping and checking.
Think we all do it at one point Lincs. I'm sure I hit a Rabbit a while back but I couldn't see anything in the road...just hope it wasn't horribly injured.


Did you see the guy on Springwatch that they call Toadman, who cycles out every night to collect up the toads during breeding season and puts them the other side where the breeding pond is? Brilliant chap.
Would be nice if they diverted the traffic while the crossing happened in my opinion.

[mrs fish]

I had to rescue a baby song thrush from being run over yesterday, the mum went balistic at me but at least she saw where I put her baby

[smartie]

My sympathies Lincs. You are right, many of us have had the same experience, and it makes you feel dreadful for ages. My most recent memory is of a pheasant last year that ran in front of my car in spite of all my attempts to avoid it. Awful. They really are the most stupid birds - when they see a car they seem compelled to run across the road to the opposite hedge instead of just popping into the nearest one. I had been weaving my way down the road at 15 miles an hour for some time avoiding other similarly kamikaze birds.

[galanthus]

When I was an EWO I was on a truancy patrol in a large police van and the police driver ran over a newly fledged robin. I demanded he stop and ran back, amazingly enough it was still alive so I put it back under a hedge. I suppose would have been kinder to break it's neck or something but I couldn't, I just hoped the mum would sort it out. Felt very bad but at least I got to date the policeman and live with him now Every cloud.....

[Ollie]

I can sympathise with how you felt Lincs, I had a similar experience quite a few years ago.

Before I could tell the difference between Stoats and Weasels I ran over some baby Stoats or Weasels. I was driving a very large loaded dump truck (45 tons+) in a quarry when a family of either Weasels or Stoats ran across the quarry road immediately in front of me. Unfortunately I was unable to avoid running over a couple of the youngsters.

Circumstances didn't allow me to stop where I was but on the way back I was going to pull in and remove them but the adult Stoat or Weasel beat me to it. He/she was seen trying to pick one of the dead young ones up off the road. I felt really bad about this for days, such a sickening feeling when you wipe out a life like that, be it unintentional.
Roger

[rlchew]

I think many of us must have had sad but unavoidable experiences like this. I recall having hit both Rabbits and birds over the years and also birds that have flown directly in front of the car (the nearest miss was a Common Buzzard .... now that did appear BIG in front of the windscreen).

However, I have also rescued a few in the past, most recently and notably a very young Snipe in the Scottish Highlands last year. Mind you, he would probably have been safe as it was one of those roads where you do not see another car for hours!

What is inexcusable is those instances where road kills are the result of deliberate actions by those morons who think that there is some fun to be had by killing wildlife that way. Many years ago I saw a "boy racer" (the polite term for this individual) deliberately speed up and drive directly at a feral pigeon in Princes Street in Edinburgh. The bird did not stand a chance and all we could do was to move the dead body to the side of the road to avoid the further indignity of it being shredded in to little pieces.

Richard

[Gill Catton]

Yes a horrible thing.... Only Sunday before last I got up really early to go to a local nature reserve and on the way back after such a wonderful morning a baby Rabbit ran out in front of me and although I didn't hit it, it doubled back across the road and was hit by a car coming the other way, but looking in my rearview I could see it hadn't been killed only its back legs had been badley crushed. I turned back determined to at least put it out of its misery tried to run it over properly but stupid instinctive twitches in my arms that made me swerve around it meant that it took three goes to actually stop it suffering......
Awful thing..... How do you make yourself a harder person? I was so angry with myself for not being strong enough to either get out and break its neck or to cleanly run over it on the first attempt straight away to kill it. Poor little animal why don't mummy Rabbits tell their babies about roads....

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Sounds like if it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else that had that misfortune and they probably wouldn't have been so thoughtful about stopping and checking.
Think we all do it at one point Lincs. I'm sure I hit a Rabbit a while back but I couldn't see anything in the road...just hope it wasn't horribly injured.


Did you see the guy on Springwatch that they call Toadman, who cycles out every night to collect up the toads during breeding season and puts them the other side where the breeding pond is? Brilliant chap.
Would be nice if they diverted the traffic while the crossing happened in my opinion.

In our area, they do close the road. It's closed for weeks until the season is finished.
I've also ran over a pheasant, nothing I could do. It casually stepping in front of my car. I'm not sure If I killed it as I saw it moving to the verge after I'd hit it. I couldn't stop, this was on a major road. As Lincs said, a horrible feeling, only tempered by the fact there was absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent it, other than not being on that road!

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Thanks for the comments, feeling much better about the accident now

[Deer Stalker]

Not nice Lincs, but as Gill says its worse if they're still suffering, & like you said it will become food for something else, nothing is wasted in nature mate.

[demicav]

Cars have alot to answer for don't they ? You have done nothing to feel bad about and I'm very lucky in that I've never been in that situation ( touch wood ). The problem will get much worse as they widen motorways, build more houses and ruin more of the country. Heading into Wales recently I saw a sign warning motorists of deer. The thing is the road was running straight through THEIR habitat. I wondered how many innocent deer had lost their lives on that stretch of road alone. The island is only so big and already too many roads.
When I was younger I remember accidently standing on a worm and feeling terrible.
As for cars, I always worry that something will run out but so far so good. A few months ago we were driving along a road and I noticed a pheasant just to the side. Knowing they have a habit of running out I was dreading it, however, luckily it didn't phew.

[Gill Catton]

Actually I was involved in study a few years ago into road kill and types of roads and t was found that small roads with tiny or absent verges are the worst - particularly roads that are ocassionally busy. Motorways had relative small kill rates - the thought was that most animals see a motorway as a proper barrier and don't try to cross plus its also relatively very busy and appears almost as a wall, smaller roads that are sometimes quiet and it was felt that perhaps animals get lulled into a false sense of security and get used to crossing the road until the day some random ecologist is pootling home after a lovely morning on a nature reserve.....

[Jack Leighton]

Yes I am agree with you it is horrible feeling not only for wild but for any type of animals, few months back when I was reversing my car my neighbor's small puppy squeezed under the tyres of the car,I stop the car when saw my neighbor coming but it was too late when I came out of the car, and I saw the puppy it was horrible feeling and I being upset many days....so it really horrible feeling to hurt any animal.

Jack Leighton
payday personal loan

[PMG]

I sympathise Lincs but when its accidental it can't be avoided . . . I've never forgotten a holiday in the Cairngorms back in the '70's when the A9 was narrower, watching a chap in a van deliberately run thro a party of baby lapwings that were crossing with their mum. We stopped and rushed across but two were dead - how he hadn't hit more I don't know - cos the moron tried hard enough. My then husband shouted at me cos I was moving the dead ones - he said said 'get the live ones!' A huge queue of traffic formed both ways and folk watched us gathering the rest of the tiny chicks up - no one shouted or honked the horn - good job really cos they would have got the wrong end of me that day! I noticed this March just gone that there are very few corpses beside the A9 now that it is so wide and a huge open grass verge has been created wherever poss.

The one that I'm responsible for was a whitethroat freshly arrived all the way from Africa which came over the wall and hedge as I was almost at South Stack on Anglesey - straight into my windscreen. . . all that way to be killed by a car and I wasn't travelling fast either. It happens as they say.

Pauline

[demicav]

Originally Posted by PMG

I sympathise Lincs but when its accidental it can't be avoided . . . I've never forgotten a holiday in the Cairngorms back in the '70's when the A9 was narrower, watching a chap in a van deliberately run thro a party of baby lapwings that were crossing with their mum. We stopped and rushed across but two were dead - how he hadn't hit more I don't know - cos the moron tried hard enough. My then husband shouted at me cos I was moving the dead ones - he said said 'get the live ones!' A huge queue of traffic formed both ways and folk watched us gathering the rest of the tiny chicks up - no one shouted or honked the horn - good job really cos they would have got the wrong end of me that day! I noticed this March just gone that there are very few corpses beside the A9 now that it is so wide and a huge open grass verge has been created wherever poss.

The one that I'm responsible for was a whitethroat freshly arrived all the way from Africa which came over the wall and hedge as I was almost at South Stack on Anglesey - straight into my windscreen. . . all that way to be killed by a car and I wasn't travelling fast either. It happens as they say.

Pauline

Can't believe people can be so evil and deliberately kill wildlife. It really angers me, they should have the same done to them.

[APC]

Gah! Last year I was brushcutting a small patch so we could put up a small marquee for a local "Friends of" group, on a small patch of heath at a well used semi urban site. It was adjacent to an area of wet and dry heath. While cutting, I flicked up a slowworm and a Common Lizard, although I didn't see where the lizard went and the slowworm looked to be in once piece and slithered off. I felt well guilty. What about the ones that I haven't seen? I bet I've killed more than I know about.

[Chiltern Chris]

I ran over a tortoise once which was sitting in the middle of the road on a bend . I felt terrible as I’d made a split second decided to run over the animal rather than swerve because I couldn’t see round the bend. I stopped to investigate my crime scene to find that the beast was fine, although it felt like running over a rock. I found the owners house and she said it regularly got run over because it liked warming itself on the tarmac, AHHHH! .......... something tells me that the owner’s mental processes were similar to those of her pet. I also had a Fallow Deer jump over a hedge and land on my car bonnet, which took both of us by surprise. Beside the upset of killing the deer, it was embarrassing as a Conservation officer having to admit that I’d killed a deer in a National Nature Reserve (Aston Rowant).

I’ve not seen a red kite flattened yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I see that sad scene. I often have to slow down and drive around them when they’re eating road kill along the Chiltern escarpment, especially on foggy mornings. Once there were about 7 landing on a dead Badger on a popular rat run to the M40 which people speed on. I parked my car about 20m from them so motorists had to go around my car and therefore miss the kites. I had great views of the kites but got lots of dirty looks from the rat runners .

[Urisk]

I remember driving along the back roads here a while back, and passing this Golf coming the other way, hurtling past me. Anyway, I took the corner and dead ahead of me was a lump of feathers that used to be a pheasant. Or so I thought. As I approached it started flopping and cartwheeling wildly, obviously highly stressed, and in pain. as I passed by it (it had whirled over to the other side of the road (for some reason it was on my side to begin with!) I caught its eye, wide and glazed with terror and pain. After a few seconds I decided I couldn't let it stay like that and I backed into a field, turned about, and went straight for it as fast as first gear would allow. Although I winced at the crunch, and felt bad, believe me I did feel awful at what I'd done, I couldn't just let it flop about the side of the road and die in agony. I convinced myself I'd done the right thing, by putting it out it's misery as I hate to see animals suffer like this. I do sometimes wonder if I was right, but I suppose it's better that than living your last few hours in agony?

[seamusagleann]

i unfortunately killed two Slow Worms while cutting grass , i felt really sick . never seen one for ages then this happens . from now on i'll check first .

[thunder]

Originally Posted by Urisk

I remember driving along the back roads here a while back, and passing this Golf coming the other way, hurtling past me. Anyway, I took the corner and dead ahead of me was a lump of feathers that used to be a pheasant. Or so I thought. As I approached it started flopping and cartwheeling wildly, obviously highly stressed, and in pain. as I passed by it (it had whirled over to the other side of the road (for some reason it was on my side to begin with!) I caught its eye, wide and glazed with terror and pain. After a few seconds I decided I couldn't let it stay like that and I backed into a field, turned about, and went straight for it as fast as first gear would allow. Although I winced at the crunch, and felt bad, believe me I did feel awful at what I'd done, I couldn't just let it flop about the side of the road and die in agony. I convinced myself I'd done the right thing, by putting it out it's misery as I hate to see animals suffer like this. I do sometimes wonder if I was right, but I suppose it's better that than living your last few hours in agony?

You absolutely did the right thing, Urisk, never doubt it for a minute.

henrya

[Dean Eades]

My taxi driver hit a Barn owl , Arful nothing he could have done

Dean...

[Emma S]

It's awful to unintentionally hurt a creature. I've been extremely lucky so far in my car, have only hit one thing, that was a pigeon which was in the middle of the road as I came round a bend. I had no time to swerve so tried to get a wheel either side of it, but it hit it's head on the underside of the car. I felt utterly sickened and I wasn't sure if it was dead, so I drove back and drove over it again, with tears running down. Some may say it was only a pigeon, but it was a living creature nevertheless. I think going back to 'finish off' a potentially fatally injured creature is by far the kindest thing in the circumstances.

By far the worst animal experience I've had in this vein was on holiday abroad. Me and my children (who were small then) were staying very happily in a guest house in a small village. One night I heard a pitiful and desperate yowling, obviously coming from a cat. The next day I saw to my horror two cats, obviously desperately unwell and unable to stand without falling over, crawling and rolling around in the gutter. They were clearly in horrific pain and making the most horrifying noise. Other people were around, and paid them no notice. I asked someone and they said the cats had been deliberately poisoned. I didn't know what to do, it was a developing country and there were no vets around. I just hoped that they would die quickly, as they seemed close to death. I checked again later, and they were still alive and in great pain. I couldn't bring myself to end their suffering, I didn't know how to kill an adult cat. I asked around, nobody wanted to get involved, in fact some people were being unnecessarily cruel to the cats, pushing them back into the gutter. I was really upset by now, and when someone came up to me saying he would kill the cats for me if I gave him money I said yes, anything to end their suffering. So I paid him, and he took the cats away, saying he would kill them. I hope he actually did. I've never felt more sickened or upset by an animal-related incedent before or after - sickened by the callous cruelty of the people, and sickened that I didn't ultimately have the guts to kill the cats more quickly myself.