Introduction

Please contact us to report casualties on the road that may be a hazard to the public. When you contact us, please give us the following information:

• Your name and phone number in case we need to contact you
• Where the injured or dead animal is, including the name or number of the road
• Whether it is on the road, the pavement or the verge
• What the animal is – for example, a badger, deer or fox

Options for reporting a dead or injured animal

1. Report a dead or injured animal on the road – phone us on 0300 123 2224. For a dead animal on the pavement or verge, please tell us where the animal is.
2. Report abandoned or dead farm animal – please phone us if the animal is on the road.
3. Report a dead animal in a waterway – please do not contact Somerset Council. Please contact The Canal and River Trust on 0303 040 4040 or visit the Environment Agency website
4. Report dead animals on motorways – please contact Highways England – phone 0300 123 5000, or visit National Highways.

For dead animals on the road, we will usually attend within one and a half hours if the animal is causing a hazard. We will then arrange for it to be removed.

If you find a badger or other protected species injured, please contact us. We will contact someone from a list of vets willing to attend roadside casualties.

We record road casualties, deaths and injuries, of badgers, deer and other protected species to provide information and statistics for the Somerset Wildlife Trust and Somerset Environmental Record Centre.

We can remove

• Badgers
• Cats
• Dogs
• Deer
• Otters
• Foxes
• Farm animals

We cannot remove

• Hedgehogs
• Rabbits
• Squirrels

We do not remove dead animals from private land. This includes homes, gardens, private shopping centres, colleges, schools, Parish Council and Housing Associations. This is the responsibility of the landowner and any incidents will need to be reported to them directly.

We are not allowed to remove any dead animals during a foot and mouth outbreak. For more information please visit The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) website.

Report a dead animal

To report an issue, you need to be registered for a My Account. This will save you having to re-enter information and allow you to track the progress of the report.

We will remove certain dead animals from land owned by the Council. This includes road gutters, pavements and public paths.

Report a dead animal by using the button below. You will be asked to sign up for, or sign in to, your account before completing the form.