THYLACINE Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Driving home on Friday night in the dark along a country lane. Something in the road but I'm going too fast, it's small and doesn't move. I hope I can drive over it but my car is quite low at the front and I hear a slight bump. I know it was an animal, quite small, probably a rabbit, it could have been dead already I tell myself, trying to justify my failure to stop. Too much of a hurry to get home, the car is nice and warm, I would have to stop and reverse, a dangerous procedure on an unlit road at night etc, etc, etc Oh, I know all the excuses, it's happened before. The next day, I find, jammed in a vent in the bumper bar Falco tasmanica A Brown Falcon. I extract it, photograph it and bury it. I feel sick. I hate myself, I hate cars, I hate the world. But it will happen again, I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Driving home on Friday night in the dark along a country lane. Something in the road but I'm going too fast, it's small and doesn't move. I hope I can drive over it but my car is quite low at the front and I hear a slight bump. I know it was an animal, quite small, probably a rabbit, it could have been dead already I tell myself, trying to justify my failure to stop. Too much of a hurry to get home, the car is nice and warm, I would have to stop and reverse, a dangerous procedure on an unlit road at night etc, etc, etc Oh, I know all the excuses, it's happened before. The next day, I find, jammed in a vent in the bumper bar Falco tasmanica A Brown Falcon. I extract it, photograph it and bury it. I feel sick. I hate myself, I hate cars, I hate the world. But it will happen again, I know. You make it sound like something out of the film Kes THYLACINE Obviously as caring, responsible drivers with a respect for nature we try our best to avoid this sort of situation but it isn't always possible. Suprisingly it was a bird you hit, - they are usually pretty good at getting out of the way. More often than not its cats and dogs that run in front of you that get clobbered. That's awkward because a cat or a dog is usually someones pet animal. I, like most people, have run over a fair few animals (none intentionally) over the years. In my motorcycling days it was bad because dogs instinctively chase the front wheel, - don't know why or what they would do with it if they caught it. If they get under the front wheel its bad news for them, and also bad news for you as it would invariably bring you off the bike. When I moved up to a three wheeler things were no better. Late at night headlights startle small animals like rabbits, hedgehogs and cats and they just freeze in the road. With a 4 wheeled car you can go over them without hitting them (sometimes) with a wheel either side and the underside of the car just about clearing over above them. With a 3 wheeler they were nearly always caught out by that central wheel. I have only once had a bird fly into the front radiator grill of my car, a Vauxhall Cavilier estate. I think the bird was a blackbird, but it was so badly damaged by the impact it was hard to tell. I had the extremely unpleasant job of removing it from the grill where it had smashed its body open and was losing blood and many of its internal organs. At the time THYLACINE I probably felt exactly as you do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madannie77 Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Horrible coincidence to see this thread: I managed to hit and kill a deer on the A66 this morning, which resulted in a very bad mood for me, a mangled front nearside to my car and a very nervous drive home this evening. The only consolation was the fact that I killed the deer instantly, rather than leaving it injured and suffering. Not that it is any real consolation for killing such a beautiful animal. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Horrible coincidence to see this thread: I managed to hit and kill a deer on the A66 this morning, which resulted in a very bad mood for me, a mangled front nearside to my car and a very nervous drive home this evening. The only consolation was the fact that I killed the deer instantly, rather than leaving it injured and suffering. Not that it is any real consolation for killing such a beautiful animal. I've never hit anything but I cam only imagine how Thylacine and you must feel. The "greener than that, taller, more-doors-mobile" just collects those items "hovering like a fly waiting for the windshield on the freeway" (song reference; English, but obviously trying for the US market judging by those lyrics - they cracked it eventually). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Horrible coincidence to see this thread: I managed to hit and kill a deer on the A66 this morning, which resulted in a very bad mood for me, a mangled front nearside to my car and a very nervous drive home this evening. The only consolation was the fact that I killed the deer instantly, rather than leaving it injured and suffering. Not that it is any real consolation for killing such a beautiful animal. Oh dear (or Oh Deer ) Hitting an animal of that size and weight, like a deer, a cow or a horse, usually causes a lot of damage to the vehicle as well as the animal and frequently results in injury to the vehicle occupants. I hope that, appart from the shock and the anger you are not injured and are OK. I once had a "near miss" with a deer on a fast country lane through the New Forrest in Dorset. The deer jumped out through a roadside edge without any warning, ran less than a metre in front of my car which was doing a legal (on thios particular road) 60mph and jumped through the bushes on the opposite side of the road. Certainly got my adrenaline levels, heart rate and blood pressure up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart0742 Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Oh dear (or Oh Deer ) Hitting an animal of that size and weight, like a deer, a cow or a horse, usually causes a lot of damage to the vehicle as well as the animal and frequently results in injury to the vehicle occupants. I hope that, appart from the shock and the anger you are not injured and are OK. I once had a "near miss" with a deer on a fast country lane through the New Forrest in Dorset. The deer jumped out through a roadside edge without any warning, ran less than a metre in front of my car which was doing a legal (on thios particular road) 60mph and jumped through the bushes on the opposite side of the road. Certainly got my adrenaline levels, heart rate and blood pressure up. Is it correct that if you hit and kill a Deer, you can not claim the carcase but the next vehicle along can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Is it correct that if you hit and kill a Deer, you can not claim the carcase but the next vehicle along can. I don't know, but don't deer belong to someone? Like if they are farmed for meat they have to be returned to the farmer? If they are wild deer there is probably some medieval law to do with hunting rights that all wild deer are the property of the Crown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike142sl Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 There are no clear laws governing the consumption of roadkill. The most relevant regulation is the EU Animal By-Products Regulation, soon to be replaced with The new Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009 that will apply from 4 March 2011 Wild animals not suspected of having an infectious disease fall outside of this legislation - and so there are no rules governing their disposal. A wild animal is defined as any animal not "kept" by a human. So squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, hares and badgers are likely to be fine. Animals that are owned, however, must be disposed of according to EU rules - which usually means they have to be processed and incinerated. This includes pets, circus animals, and farm animals. It would, therefore, not be legal to eat them. Ownership of roadkill is debatable. Most country people assume that the driver who kills the rabbit, pheasant or pigeon may not make a meal of it, but the driver of the car behind can. In 2004, the Highways Agency advised that it owns roadkill, but this rule is rarely enforced. It is, though, the party that is responsible for clearing it away. Personally the prospect of eating roadkill is fraught with dangers as there is no way of knowing what illnesses the animal had. Also the bruising would leave the meat somewhat sour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vox Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 2 out of 4 baby blackbirds have died. One as a result of flying full tilt into my kitchen window. The other flew into a giant mirror which is on the garden wall. I partly closed the blind for a couple of days and pulled some foliage over the mirror. Not much more I can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THYLACINE Posted May 24, 2010 Author Share Posted May 24, 2010 The Bells of Heaven T'would ring the bells of Heaven The wildest peal for years, If Parson lost his senses And people came to theirs, And he and they together Knelt down with angry prayers For tamed and shabby tigers, And dancing dogs and bears, And wretched blind pit ponies, And little hunted hares. Ralph Hodgson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Animals that are owned, however, must be disposed of according to EU rules - which usually means they have to be processed and incinerated. This includes pets, circus animals, and farm animals. It would, therefore, not be legal to eat them. Farm animals are owned by a farmer and so fit this description. However most farm animals are there because they are being reared for food production and will eventually go to the abatoir and be cleared as "fit for human consumption". They would not be disposed of by incineration but could be "processed" into food, - at which point it cannot be "not legal" to eat them. The law is full of meaningless statments like this which use a form of legal English which just doesn't make sense. In my days working with traction engines 2 laws concerning the use of traction engines on the public highway stand out as utter nonsense, 1) The engine should be designed in such a way as to be able to consume its own smoke {How does that work then, - a smokeless coal fire!} 2) The maximum length of a road train must not exceed the length of a road train {So just how long is a "road train" exactly?} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayleaf Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 I don't know, but don't deer belong to someone? Like if they are farmed for meat they have to be returned to the farmer? If they are wild deer there is probably some medieval law to do with hunting rights that all wild deer are the property of the Crown. Given our propensity for leaving ancient laws on the statute books, I think the penalty for killing a deer is having a hand chopped off. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayleaf Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 It is, though, the party that is responsible for clearing it away. Many moons ago I worked at Firth Park Library. One Saturday, a member of the public came in and said there was a dead cat outside, what were we going to do about it? It was about 11.55, so we rang the Cleansing dept, and reported it. The person on the phone said "Is it on the pavement or in the roadway?" "It's in the gutter" we said. Right, you want Highways dept." And hung up. Was it a coincidence that in those days council depts were staffed until 12 noon on saturdays? (Except us poor souls who were on 'til 5.15) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmdee Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 There are hologram window decals made just for this purpose. When attached to windows etc. they are almost invisible to the human eye, but stand out clearly to birds. 2 out of 4 baby blackbirds have died. One as a result of flying full tilt into my kitchen window. The other flew into a giant mirror which is on the garden wall. I partly closed the blind for a couple of days and pulled some foliage over the mirror. Not much more I can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 There are hologram window decals made just for this purpose. When attached to windows etc. they are almost invisible to the human eye, but stand out clearly to birds. As I have probably mentioned before we keep a lot of birds in the house, mainly lovebirds. When we let them out for exercise and a good fly round the windows are OK, they have nets as well as curtains and the birds can clearly see the nets and know that the window is not just an open passage to the outside. We have to be a bit more careful with mirrors though. We sometimes take the mirror down (although they love perching on it) as occasionally one will fly into the glass thinking that it is a "hole" into an identical but laterally inverted room! Lovebirds on a mirror Sillouette of a Cockatiel against window nets Birds take over the house, - Just like a Hitchcock movie! :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 ... identical but laterally inverted room! or "identically opposite" as Spike Milligan once described his wartime plimsolls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 or "identically opposite" as Spike Milligan once described his wartime plimsolls. In chemistry mirror image asymetry is behind the concept of chirality and the 4 bonded chiral carbon atom which gives rise to mirror image molecules which are optical isomers or enantiomers. The 2 mirror image molecules, called the L and D forms are chemically identical except in their ability to rotate the plane of plane polarised light. However, I like the description "identically opposite" better In any case I thought this was a thread about road accidents involving animals Right, - back to topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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