Helping Injured Wildlife
What should I do if I come across an injured deer or other wild animal?
In the UK, there are over 74,000 deer-vehicle collisions every year, as well of course as many incidents involving foxes, badgers and other wildlife - so in our heavily wooded county of Surrey, you may find yourself unexpectedly needing to answer this question.
The general advice in the event of a collision if the animal seems healthy and is on a motorway or busy A-road is to call Highways England on 0300 123 5000 who will make arrangements for the animal to be removed. On minor roads, call the police on 101. They'll decide the best action to take for the safety of both the animal and road users.
If you have spotted an injured animal, especially if it is on the road, then call for advice and specialist help and aim to keep the animal calm until help arrives. If the animal is causing a hazard on the road, please, put your hazard lights on to protect both you and the animal. Note that handling or sitting near deer causes incredible stress to them which can result in their death. Deer hit by cars may often be stunned and not injured. They can take up to an hour to rest and recover and will then run off after this recovery period.
There is helpful information on the RSPCA, Surrey Wildlife Trust and local Wildlife Aid websites. Surrey Wildlife Trust have a very useful directory where you pop in your location and it comes up with a list of wildlife rescue organisations near you, covering all wildlife species:
The RSPCA contact number is 0300 1234 999.
They have separate advice pages on their website for deer, foxes and badgers.
Two very helpful and reasonably close wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organisations which have sent someone out to help injured animals locally, including deer are:
Wildlife Aid at Leatherhead: Call: 01372 360404
Web: https://wildlifeaid.org.uk/emergency-helpline/ https://wildlifeaid.org.uk/wildlife/advice/
Hart Wildlife Rescue at Alton: Call: 01420 562335 Web: https://hartwildlife.org.uk/
On a different topic concerning deer, if they are eating your roses, the British Deer Society have a webpage on deterring deer from your garden.