Cyclists try to stop dog attacking injured deer in Richmond Park; 'Un-beale-ievable': EastEnders' Adam Woodyatt calls out dodgy driver; Council should be 'deeply embarrassed' by Kensington High Street; Fabian Cancellara vs Mo Farah + more on the live blog

Jem PT wrote:

It's funny, that video posted by Jonathan Kelly is Moscow Road, parallel to Bayswater Road, and part of my (cycling) commute to work. During the week it is quiet and no problem. This video being taken on a Sunday the parking restrictions don't apply hence the gridlock. I'm guessing these cars are people visiting nearby Kensington Gardens?

You mean people staying local for exercising, yet clearly so far away they need to drive?

Both of the two wheel drive cars must be from outside the borough anyway.

HoarseMann wrote:

I had a quick scan through the DM comments on the dog article and nobody has said what a good job it was there were so many cyclists in Richmond Park - weird!

The cyclists clearly enraged the dog. If they hadn't been taking up the whole road, jumping red lights, going to fast, going to slow, the dog would have behaved itself. Obvs...

Captain Badger wrote:

HoarseMann wrote:

I had a quick scan through the DM comments on the dog article and nobody has said what a good job it was there were so many cyclists in Richmond Park - weird!

The cyclists clearly enraged the dog. If they hadn't been taking up the whole road, jumping red lights, going to fast, going to slow, the dog would have behaved itself. Obvs...

Its because they make too much noise while spooking the wildlife with the silent approach.

And don't forget all the naked selfies and whatnot. 

Well as the car drivers decided they were safe in their bubble I'm guessing it was upto the cyclists to help.

Edit: Not sure on the DM but in the ES story, they were not cyclists but "passers-by".

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Well as the car drivers decided they were safe in their bubble I'm guessing it was upto the cyclists to help.

Car drivers aren't quite as good at 'coming out of nowhere' and 'getting in the way' apparently.

I saw that story and video elsewhere. Don't blame the dog. It was just doing what it was bred to do. Blame the owner for not having his dog on a lead.

I've never taken my dog to Richmond Park because he's a whippet, which is a hunting dog, and I know he has a high prey drive. If I did take him there I'd certainly keep him on the lead. He's very gentle with people but when he sees squirrels, rabbits, cats or foxes, he goes nuts and wants to catch them. He did see a deer once in Scotland and I'm very glad he was on the lead given the way he reacted then. 

Good on the cyclists for trying to stop the dog.

Told the wife I couldnt watch the new Nigel Havers drama on ITV last night as I had cancelled him. She was sensible enough not to ask why and just accepted it 

is that "even unrepentant convicted drink driver Nigel Havers"? Just want to make sure we don't confuse him with a more upstanding member of the public.

brooksby wrote:

Quote:

How can you not be deeply embarrassed by this RBKC?

Because RBKC have no sense of shame.  I thought everybody knew that by now.

Not sure about shame, but their member for roads appears to have been sidelined.

alchemilla wrote:

The dog owner should have been fined thousands, not hundreds, .....

Well, on the scale apparently in common use for deciding the size of a fine, £602 puts them well into the category of seriously injuring or killing a cyclist.

However, the broken leg (and the wound(?)) that meant it needed to be put down was caused by the car that hit it as it was escaping the dog. No cars about neans the  deer would have run off without any harm to it. 

But clearly both cars and free roaming dogs should be banned from the park.

If it saves one life....

"Four deer have died from dog attacks in the royal parks since March 2020, while there have been 58 incidents of dogs chasing the herds - a big increase on previous years - according to the manager of Richmond Park.

Part of the increase is thought to be down to new dog owners who are unfamiliar with the best conduct around wildlife."

Imagine if the words "dog attacks" was replaced by "cyclists"...

hirsute wrote:

"Four deer have died from dog attacks in the royal parks since March 2020, while there have been 58 incidents of dogs chasing the herds - a big increase on previous years - according to the manager of Richmond Park.

Part of the increase is thought to be down to new dog owners who are unfamiliar with the best conduct around wildlife."

Very likely but I've seen lots of owners not even bothering to control their dogs, everything from a yappy pocket furball up to a couple of unruly Labs running straight at my daughter, barking (who was about 4 at the time and petrified). My wife won't go for walks alone in the fields near our estate for that reason.

What they need is notices posted at each gate saying that any loose dogs seen chasing deer or posing a genuine risk to the safety of people using the park will be shot on sight by a park gamekeeper / deer warden.

Yep, my point wasn't in defence of the dog, just that the worse injuries were caused as it was hit when trying to escape. The other story of scared deer hitting a child shows that Dogs are a main concern. 

I'm amazed (not) that the car in this episode is mentioned only in passing, as if they are just part of the natural environment, like the deer had run into a tree and broken its leg.

Understandably the deer would have been bolting, but the sight lines from the roadway are clear and unobstructed. Yet zero culpability seems to be attached to the motorist, who would doubtless have the defence that the deer came "out of nowhere", in a deer park.

Speed limit 20, stopping distance <= 12m

Probably all those speediing cyclists that intimidated the driver causing them to lose concentration.

Not defending anyone here as I obviously dont know any of the details around how the deer was injured or the reason for it to be put down. Having said that deer can come out of nowhere really easily, although usually over a hedge like the one that landed on the bonnet of my car a few years ago. Luckily for the deer, it, it got up, gave me a surly look and bounded off over the next hedge. Unluckily for me, a trip to the garage and several hundred quid for new parts. More annoyingly it meant I couldn't afford any new bike stuff for some time.