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Road Kill RIP Foxy

  • 12-11-2008 11:57am
    #1
    WindSock
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,239 ✭✭✭✭


    I was on my way into work this morning and drove past the carcass of a poor fox. Who do you call to remove dead animals from the road? Also, if I were to hit an animal and it were half dead, what should I do next? Take it to the vet if I have time and space in the car? Call the Gardai? Kill it to put it out of it's misery?


Comments

  • #2
    Trojan911
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,194 ✭✭✭Trojan911


    WindSock wrote: »
    Also, if I were to hit an animal and it were half dead, what should I do next? Take it to the vet if I have time and space in the car?

    Depends on it's state. If you've taken the steps to stop then make time & space to take it to a vet.
    WindSock wrote: »
    Call the Gardai?

    Only if it is a dog, deer, cattle or horses, wouldn't bother them otherwise unless it poses a danger to other traffic users.
    WindSock wrote: »
    Kill it to put it out of it's misery?

    How would you propose to do this? Driving over it may not finish the job & again could endanger your safety with oncoming traffic whilst doing this. Could you stomach walloping it with a blunt instrument several times?


  • #3
    jen_23
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 789 ✭✭✭jen_23


    I have to say that if I happened to come across a half dead animal I would take it to the vet regadless. If they couldn't help it altleast they would be able to euthanize it humanely.
    How would you like your death to be bloody and painful? I know I wouldn't!


  • #4
    kerrysgold
    Closed Accounts Posts: 969 ✭✭✭kerrysgold


    poor fox. as for putting it out of it's misery, er, no! not unless you happen to carry putting down medicine (sorry don't know medical name or is it just an OD of anaesthetic?) or a gun with you. Any other way is surely to only cause more suffering. besides, an animal that looks like it is a lost cause isn't always going to die and could possibly be saved with veterinary attention.


  • #5
    The Sweeper
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    It has to be said, unless you're utterly unsqueamish, don't try to euthanise it yourself. Take it to the vet, who'll put it down.

    *Don't read further if you're squeamish*

    We have some horror stories down here with kangaroos (the world's least road-sensible animal). The fact is that you can't bring an injured kangaroo to the vet (unless it's a joey). Subsequently if they're not killed instantly most of them are put down at the side of the road.

    It's a well-known local fact that you call the wildlife carers who have a gun license, not the police. The wildlife carer will get as close as they can so they can finish the animal with a single headshot, and they have rifles. The police mostly have handguns, which results in a target-practice episode because they have to stand far enough back to ensure they don't get hurt themselves.

    (A large male eastern grey kangaroo with one broken leg is a candidate for euthanasia, but he'll still do some considerable damage to you if he gets the chance.)

    My current next door neighbour is about the only person I know who I'd trust to kill something without using a gun. He isn't squeamish, so he'll just get something like a tyre iron and hit it as hard as he can in the head. May sound horrific, but there was an incident locally where a woman hit a kangaroo with her car just outside our properties.

    She called the police. There followed an unfortunate episode where the policeman shot the kangaroo three times (why, bizarrely, anyone would try to kill a kangaroo with a body shot is beyond me) and still hadn't managed to kill it. My neighbour went to the end of the driveway with a short crowbar, intervened successfully with said crowbar and put paid to the poor kangaroo.

    When he realised the driver of the car was still on the scene, he apologised profusely that she had to see it, but she actually thanked him - the 30 seconds it took him to dispatch the kangaroo looked terribly violent, but it was far better than the five minutes of pot shots that preceded it.


  • #6
    WindSock
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,239 ✭✭✭✭WindSock


    Yeah those roos are a nuisance to themselves and motorists. Some roads I was on it was like a roo holocaust for miles and miles. Apparently its the heat from the road that attracts them at night and there is more moisture around for vegetation.
    I had to kill a myxamatosed rabbit in Australia myself. He was half dead and had been chased and caught by a dog, so he was on his way out. I got a shovel and tried to snap his neck with the sharp egde. When that didn't work, I turned it around to the flat side and shut my eyes to wallop it. I heard a clang, but had missed the poor fella. I tried again and missed. I probably terrified it more than anything. To make sure I did the job properly I forced myself to look and aim at his head. It did the job, but I don't know if I would be able to do that to a dog.

    Anyway gorey story behind me and back to my original questions...what should I do if I kill something on the road, or if it's not competely killed and I don't have time / know whereabouts / have no room in car for vet?


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