Fallen Animals 2017

Summary

A request for detailed 2017 statistics on fallen animals was partially answered with 2017/18 financial year data, while specific details on cause of death, origin, and missing animal estimates were withheld as not collected or outside the department's scope.

Key Facts

• The Department of Infrastructure does not collect data on the cause of death for fallen animals.
• Records do not distinguish whether animals originated from farms, zoos, or as pets.
• Age data is only collected for cattle (calves, juveniles, cows) for invoicing purposes.
• The department cannot speculate on the number of missing or unaccounted-for animals.
• Statistics are reported on a financial year basis (March to February) rather than calendar years.

Data Disclosed

• 7848
• 7927
• 37
• 28
• 648
• 792
• 215
• 196
• 1561
• 1468
• 1306
• 1247
• 3823
• 3931
• 18
• 26
• 32
• 208
• 207
• 2017/18
• 2018/19
• 4000
• 19 February 2020
• 5 March 2020
• 1188349

Original Request

To whom it may concern, With this email I request for the following information to be released, this may include information from the Animal Waste Section: 1. How many fallen animals were picked up and disposed of during 2017. 2. What was the cause of death (if it was euthanasia then what was the incident that lead upto that decision) 3. What species were they. 4. Where they from a farm (livestock) the zoo (captive) pets (domestic) or other. 5. What age were they. 6. Estimation of animals unaccounted for/missing. 7. Any other data that may help provide additional information towards the nature of this FOIA. I understand this is a subjective question but any reasonable advice and/or data that feels relative to understanding the fallen count of animals would be appreciated.

Data Tables (2)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team JQ/MF Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 1188349 5 March 2020

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 19 February 2020 and which states (sic):

"With this email I request for the following information to be released, this may include information from the Animal Waste Section: 1. How many fallen animals were picked up and disposed of during 2017. 2. What was the cause of death (if it was euthanasia then what was the incident that lead upto that decision) 3. What species were they. 4. Where they from a farm (livestock) the zoo (captive) pets (domestic) or other. 5. What age were they. 6. Estimation of animals unaccounted for/missing. 7. Any other data that may help provide additional information towards the nature of this FOIA. I understand this is a subjective question but any reasonable advice and/or data that feels relative to understanding the fallen count of animals would be appreciated." The information you have requested is shown below. 1. For logistical reasons the animal waste collection statistics run from 1 March to 28/29 February. Total 2017/18 7848 2018/19 7927

2. The cause of death is not information collected by the Department. 3. Please see notes below this table.

2017/18 2018/19 Bull 37 28 Cow 648 792 Juvenile 215 196 Calf 1561 1468 Bag of lambs 1306 1247 Sheep 3823 3931 Pig 18 26 Horse 32 32 Various* 208 207 Total 7848 7927 Notes: * A bag of lambs can comprise 1-5 lambs ** Will include collections from vets, road kill, seals and dolphins. Vets are charged per collection so no record is taken of the type/quantity of animals. Although a dead seal/dolphin would have been reported, because there is no charge for this collection and disposal, they are noted in this category 4. The Department cannot and does not record whether the animals were from farms, the wildlife park or pets. 5. For invoicing purposes a calf is classified as under 4 months, a juvenile 4-18 months and a cow over 18 months. No age information is collected for any other animals. 6. The Department cannot speculate on the number of missing animals as they have no operational involvement. It may be that DEFA, via animal counts vs animal passports may have some information on this. 7. The Department cannot offer any “advice and/or data” without knowing the intended use of the information requested. To give a full picture, fallen stock collections are notified to the Animal Waste Section (AWS) via a DEFA job sheet. These sheets are frequently updated, at the time of collection, with the actual numbers of fallen stock collected and therefore the figures of the two departments will often differ to a degree. There are roughly 4000 fallen stock collections done annually with job sheets for the current year plus one retained for invoicing purposes.

Please quote the reference number 1188349 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are

dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. We will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

FOI Response Team