Reporting dead mammals

Occasionally, as part of your mammal recordings, you may encounter dead or injured animals.

What to do if you find a dead mammal?

1. Are you sure that it is dead? Please read the available advice from the RSPCA in case the animal is not dead. If the animal is injured and the RSPCA is unable to help, find a local rescue centre, such as the Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital.
2. Rule out animal crime. See further advice from the Wildlife Trust and the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme. If it involves a bat, also see the Bat Conservation Trust website.
3. Record it.
   • 3.1. As a biological record
     • AND
   • 3.2. As a wildlife casualty (if appropriate and depending on location, see below).
4. Find out if it is of interest to be sampled (you can read more here).

Where have you found a dead mammal?

By the road?

If you have ensured that the animal you’ve found is dead and is not a case of wildlife crime, there is a number of actions you can take next.

If the animal is by the road creating a problem, it is possible that your local council may be able to remove it. However, consider that carrion from healthy animals (such as road traffic collisions) is essential for the survival of a number of insects, birds and mammals. Why don’t you put it away safely to the side or under a hedge so that scavengers can continue to feed on it without risking being run over? If the animal you’ve found has died due to a contagious illness, such as bird flu, please remove it yourself safely if you can do so.

In addition, it may be possible to sample it before you dispose of the dead animal.

Finally, you can record the sighting in different recording schemes of animal casualties (but please record it too as a biological record, as the schemes below do not at present share data with WSBRC):

The Road Lab (Splatter)

This citizen science project started in 2013 aims to quantify and map wildlife roadkill across the UK. You can either report on their website or via the free app, available for Android and iPhone.

Mammals on Roads

The annual Mammals on Roads survey has been run by People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) since 2001. Over half a million kilometres of Britain’s roads have been surveyed so far.

In your garden?

This Garden Wildlife Health online survey will help you report any wild animal deaths found in your garden, identify any potential illness, dispatch carcases and obtain feedback.

What animal is it?

Is it a whale or dolphin?

Report it to the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme.

Is it a badger?

Have a look at further actions on the Badger Conservation Trust website.

Dead St. Kilda field mouse, (C) Peter Shallcross.