by Picture of mare ᴍᴏᴜʀɴɪɴɢ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ foal after ʜɪᴛ and run released to increase driver awareness
Campaigners trying to reduce road ᴄᴏʟʟɪsɪᴏɴs involving animals in the New Forest have released a picture of a mare ᴍᴏᴜʀɴɪɴɢ her deal foal to try to explain the impact such incidents have.
The months-old colt had to be put down owing to the “ʜᴏʀʀɪꜰɪᴄ” ɪɴᴊᴜʀɪᴇs he suffered in a ʜɪᴛ and run. He was found on the morning of 3 July, the result of a third ꜰᴀᴛᴀʟ ᴄᴏʟʟɪsɪᴏɴ in three weeks. The spokesman said: ‘Of course cars need to slow down, but drivers need to have more common sense when driving on Forest roads when driving past animals. ‘When passing an animal, slow down and keep your distance because animals are unpredictable. Sometimes the speed limit is too fast for the conditions and drivers need to pay attention and remain alert.’ “This one was found at about 10am, but we can’t pinpoint exactly where he was or when he’d been ʜɪᴛ as he was still mobile,” she said. “How the little mite was still walking, I don’t know. He’d been ʜɪᴛ very much from the rear and had a sᴇᴠᴇʀᴇ ꜰʟᴇsʜ ᴡᴏᴜɴᴅ, down to the bone, round three quarters of his hind leg. The pictures we have of it are ʜᴏʀʀɪꜰɪᴄ; I couldn’t share them. Because of his ᴡᴏᴜɴᴅs, he had to be put down, for his own welfare.” None of the recent ᴄᴏʟʟɪsɪᴏɴs had been reported, Ms Jones said. She hopes the photo she took will add to calls for more to be done to reduce the speed on New Forest roads. The New Forest is one of the few areas in the UK where animals are common on roads, as ponies, donkeys, cattle, sheep and pigs roam free. “It might be people not knowing they should,” she said. “Common sense would tell you to but I won’t say too much more about that. “There’s an urban myth that you can get penalty points and a fine for ʜɪᴛting the animals, which is ʀᴜʙʙɪsʜ; the main thing is to report any ᴀᴄᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛs, so the animal can get the ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ it needs.” Ms Jones said the message to put out is that drivers must respect the animals who live in the forest; as soon as they cross a cattle grid in the road, they should be alert. “You’ve got to respect them, and their owners,” she said. “We always say a forest pony has the sense of a three-year-old child, and the foals have none. “The other thing is that some of the comments on social media after an animal’s ʜɪᴛ are so ᴠɪʟᴇ, it can unfortunately put people off reporting, but it has to be done.
This is the ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ-ᴡʀᴇɴᴄʜɪɴɢ moment a ɢʀɪᴇᴠɪɴɢ foal stands over its ᴅᴇᴀᴅ mother at the roadside after she was ᴋɪʟʟᴇᴅ by a motorist. Hope that is a lesson for people to love animals!
