Dead & injured animals

If you find dead or injured livestock on a Trust managed site, please call our livestock emergency number on 07817 769672. This phone is manned by a member of our grazing teams at all times and is for emergencies only.

Road traffic incidents

Under the Road Traffic Act, you must contact the police to report hitting the following animals with a road vehicle as soon as possible, whether they are dead or injured:

• dogs
• sheep
• pigs
• goats
• cattle
• donkeys or mules
• horses

This must be done within 24 hours by law.

Public places

If you find a dead animal on the road, pavement, or in another open public space, you should tell your local council. This includes domestic pets and wild animals like badgers and foxes.

For monitoring purposes

Bats: The Bat Conservation Trust encourages the submission of dead bats to a programme run by the Animal & Plant Health Agency that helps monitor UK bats for the spread of a European strain of rabies virus affecting bats. Call the BCT helpline (0345 1300 228) who will send you a kit.

Badgers: The Badger Trust collect reports of badger related incidents to aid prevention. If you are in Wales, dead badgers should be reported to the Wales Veterinary Science Centre, with the Ordnance Survey grid reference of the location if possible, and they will remove the carcass.

Birds: In the interests of monitoring and understanding the spread of avian influenza (bird flu), Defra ask that you report:

• One or more dead birds of prey (such as owl, hawk or buzzard);
• Three or more dead birds that include at least one gull, swan, goose or duck; or
• Five or more dead wild birds of any species. 

You can report dead wild birds through Defra's new online reporting system here. You can also contact them on the Defra helpline (03459 33 55 77). Do not touch or handle any dead or visibly sick bird if you can avoid it, but if you must, wash your hands thoroughly as soon as possible, keeping your hands away from your face and any food.

Garden animals: Report deaths of garden animals including reptiles, amphibians, birds, and hedgehogs to the Garden Wildlife Health project. The project relies on public reports to help monitor health and identify disease threats to British wildlife.

Injured wildlife

As a conservation organisation, Surrey Wildlife Trust cannot treat sick or injured wildlife. If you find an animal that is trapped or hurt, please use the Wildlife Rescue Directory website to locate your nearest wildlife rescue centre.

If you suspect a species has been injured as a result of a wildlife crime, please find further information below.

Wildlife Rescue Directory