Skip to main content

Dead animals

To report an animal that has been killed on the highway, such as dogs, cats or foxes, please contact the Customer Services department of the Council on 01702 318111 during office hours to arrange for the animal to be removed. If it is necessary for the animal to be moved out of hours, for example at the weekend, please telephone the Councils out of hours service on 01268 527317.

Dogs killed in road accidents, where the owner of the animal is not present or not known, should also be reported to the police. If the report is not urgent, please use the Essex Police non-emergency number of 101. In an emergency call 999.

When a dead cat or dog is collected by the Council, it is checked to see if it has a collar with owner details on it and scanned to see if it is micro chipped, so that the owner can be informed if possible.

In the case of dogs, full descriptive details of the dog and where it was found are recorded by the Council and passed to the Council's contracted Dog Warden.

In the case of cats, full descriptive details of the cat and where it was found are recorded by the Council and passed onto the local Cats Protection and RSPCA branches to be recorded in their lost and found cat records. The cat will be stored by a local Veterinary Surgery for 7 days should the owner be found and wish to claim the animal.

For larger animals killed on the highway, such as horses and livestock, where the owner is not known, please contact the Customer Services department of the Council on 01702 318111 during office hours or 01268 527317 out of hours, who will arrange collection of the animal.