44 animals died on New Forest roads last year
The number of livestock killed has fallen for the third year running
Last updated 19th Jan 2022
103 accidents involving livestock were recorded in the New Forest in the 2021 according to figures released by the Verderers.
44 animals were killed or had to be put down by an agister - that's down from 50 the year before and 58 in 2019.
Of those which died 24 were ponies the majority of which were wearing reflective collars.
15 animals were also injured.
A quarter of the all the accidents involved local motorists, that's those living within the New Forest District Council area.
Gilly Jones from campaign group, New Forest Roads Awareness, says the figures were 'encouraging' but stressed there was less traffic on the roads due to Covid and lockdowns.
Hit and Run
There were 17 hit and runs, where drivers failed to stop after being involved in a collision - a similar number to 2020.
Gilly Jones from New Forest Roads Awareness says there's no excuse for not reporting an incident.
"The amount of hit and runs is in my run unforgivable. People should know if they are involved in an accident to call 999. Ponies are flight animals and will run off but they may have internal injuries or broken legs and need an agister to attend to them as soon as possible."
Meanwhle 2022 has already got off to heart-breaking start with two pony deaths.
Trial on Roger Penny Way
Meanwhile a new trial has begun to try to reduce the number of animal deaths on one of the Forest's deadliest routes, Roger Penny Way.
Salt licks have been positioned along the B3078 to help lure grazing animals away from the road.
During the colder months, ponies, donkeys and cattle are drawn to the road by salt and grit spreading, where they then lick the salt off the road surface.
The new salt licks, large lumps of salt, are in open top containers and have been placed approximately 135 metres back from the road.
The salt itself is in big lumps to ensure it doesn’t spill onto the ground.
Once the weather improves, the containers will be removed.
The New Forest Commoners Association hope it will "'make a difference to animal behaviour and accident numbers " but the message remains clear;
"Even with new measures in place, we still ask all drivers in the forest to drive to the conditions, expect the unexpected and prepare to stop."