Battle continues to reduce number of New Forest animal accidents

This article by Gilly Jones, chair of the New Forest Animal Accidents Reduction Group, was first published in the CDA’s annual report for 2025.

After the lowest numbers of your livestock deaths in 2024, I have no pleasure in telling you that 2025 was the worst since 2019. So, what have we done to reduce the livestock deaths in the past 12 months?

The New Forest CDA, Young Commoners and New Forest Roads Awareness have been very active on social media, media, radio and television interviews.

Raising the profile of Commoners has always been quite difficult, but we must work together to get to know, like and get people to trust us as guardians of the New Forest.

In late 2025, the CDA launched the New Forest Drive Safe group. The premise is simple: we would like companies with staff who drive in the New Forest to promote animal awareness and safe driving across the National Park, and to educate people in what to do if they are involved in or witness an accident.

We would ask every CDA member to find a business and ask them to sign up.

Operation Mountie is a multi-agency initiative to reduce speeding within the Forest.

It is out monthly, and more often when possible. We have a huge amount of success with this, not only giving education to drivers going a couple on miles an hour over the limit, but tickets to those who go above a set threshold. Cars have been seized due to many offences.

I had a meeting with the Official Verderer, the District Commander for the New Forest Police and the Roads Policing Unit. The Police have committed to more patrols on the key routes where incidents are happening.

We also have an extra speeding deterrent that is new to Hampshire. We are lucky enough to have the speed camera van that is part funded by the Verderers. Now we have access to motorbikes that use video devices to detect and report speeders. They can go to areas that the camera van cannot use.

While doing Op Mountie, my main concern is that people do not know who to call if they witness or are involved in an accident, so please let’s help them in every place we can.

When there has been a collision, I will put a sign out on behalf of the Agisters. I am trialling some that are double sided, so drivers from both directions will see that a RTC (road traffic collision) has happened.

Finally, what can we as Commoners do? Lead by example, pass livestock slow and wide. Please collar your ponies, cattle or donkeys and help spread the word on who to call.