Hampshire police launch anti-animal suffering plan across UK

Some 17 other forces across the country were in attendance on November 21 as Hampshire explained their Humane Animal Dispatch (HAD) volunteer scheme.

HADs support police by offering expert support when deer are involved in collisions on Hampshire roads.

The force control room can call out HADs 24/7 and police say that deploying a volunteer stops the unnecessary suffering of deer, putting down the animal as humanely as possible.

Up to October 31, HADs had been deployed 130 times in Hampshire this year.

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Firearms officers in comparison were only deployed on 21 occasions.

Police say the volunteer scheme has allowed the force to make savings of up to £47,095.

Inspector Stuart Ross, who has been leading the scheme for the Constabulary, said: “The HAD volunteers are an invaluable resource.

“The support they provide to policing at the roadside is phenomenal – not only are they experts in their field, ensuring that animals do not suffer unnecessarily in the aftermath of a collision, but as an asset their deployment ensures other police resources can direct their focus elsewhere.

“The Constabulary pioneered the police-led scheme around 15 years ago.

“We recently launched our scheme nationally to an audience of police colleagues around the country, and we are pleased that other forces such as Derbyshire have already recognised the scheme as best practice and are exploring adopting it in their area.”

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HAD volunteers must have pre-existing qualifications and be accredited before joining the scheme.

The Deer Management Qualification governing body now offer a specific HAD award which all applicants must complete.

David McAuley, CEO of The British Deer Society, said: “After over 20 years of dedicated work by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, we are delighted to see the HIOWC Humane Animal Dispatch volunteer scheme poised for a national rollout.

“In the long term, we aim to raise enough funds to support vetted applicants with the specific training they need to become official police HAD volunteers.”

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