Dear TFL, This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and relates to animals involved in traffic accidents. I would like to be provided with the following information. (1) I would like to know how many road collisions involving animals (wild or domestic) were recorded in 2020, 2019 and 2018 on London or TFL operated roads. (2) I would like this information broken down by month, starting in January 2018 and ending in December 2020. (3) I would like to know specifically how many foxes have been hurt or killed in collisions on London or TFL operated roads in 2020, 2019 and 2018 . (4) I would like this information broken down by month, starting in January 2018 and ending in December 2020. I would like to receive the information in an excel format. If you feel that a substantive response to this request is not possible within a reasonable time frame, or that the request is too broad or too vague, I would be grateful if you could contact me by telephone xxxxxx and provide assistance as to how I could refine the request.

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TfL Ref 1958-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 4 January 2021 asking for information about animals involved in traffic accidents on our road network.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.  I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require.

Drivers are obliged to report traffic collisions involving certain animals to the Police. Please see the Gov.uk website for more information: https://www.gov.uk/report-dead-animal. You may want to contact the Metropolitan Police Service: https://www.met.police.uk/foi-ai/af/accessing-information/

We only hold details of collisions on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) that involve injury to one or more person. We don’t have details of damage only collisions or those where an animal alone was injured. Attached is the latest data we have, up to the end of June 2020 (please note that all 2020 data is still provisional) showing collisions involving someone being injured.  The severity shown, serious / slight is connected to the casualty. We have filtered the data we hold to show all ‘Carriageway hazards’ (7 Animal in Cwy (not rid-Horse)),  ‘Vehicle hit object in carriageway’ (12 Hit animal (not ridden horse)) or ‘Contributory Factor 109’ (ANIMAL OR OBJECT IN CARRIAGEWAY).  Unfortunately, we cannot tell which type of animal was involved in the collision.   Please also note that the details recorded are the reporting officer’s opinion at the time of reporting and may not be the result of an extensive investigation.

Details of the recording process can be found on the DfT website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-accidents-and-safety-statistics-guidance.

We also publish data on general collisions which you may be interested in – please see the following link to our website:  https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/road-safety

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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