I just killed a goat

... and I feel terrible

[Liane]

Man! After a wonderful birthday party (which about 16 friends attended despite horrible weather) ... I was driving home, came around a blind curve and WHAM! My headlights (and then my car) hit a heard of goats strolling along the road.

I feel just awful. I know I killed the one goat and injured at least one other. The injured one ran away and I couldn't get anywhere near it to help as it went up into the hills. The one I hit died pretty much instantly.

In more than 30 years of driving, I've never hit any living thing ... and its a very upsetting event. I can't stop shaking! I feel so badly and just don't know what I am supposed to do at this point.

I know I should call the police and report it, but to be perfectly honest, I am afraid. Killing someone's goat here is tantamount to killing their child. Well maybe its not quite that bad ... but its pretty bad!

I hate to think of myself as a coward ... but there you go ... apparently I am. I am too afraid to do what I know is the right thing and that's it in a nutshell!

I know that many of you who live in the "real" world will be laughing hysterically by now ... but this is a very real problem with very real repercussions if I am found out.

OK ... calling the police now. I can't stand the guilt!

[onedumbear]

I also feel terrible for you.
I believe if you are going to spend 900 dollars, it should be for a lawyer to sue the man that traumatized you and caused damage to your car by not being concerned and responsible for the safety of his goat.
I am an animal lover also (my business is pet related and often the work i do is very sad) , but i feel as bad for you as the poor goat.
Best wishes and good luck...

[Liane]

Lawman, Marcia, Pendanticist, AAnnAArchy ... you are too kind and I am now in tears again ... but not because of the goat. WebmasterWorld truly is a compassionate place ... and I love you guys!

Thanks for your kind words and support. Unfortunately, I have 2 men in my driveway who are driving me, my dog and very likely my very sweet landlady nuts. I am going to have to put an end to it as the police have not responded to my call for help.

Back soon. If not, please call the Britsh Virgin Islands Police at [phone].

Don't get crazy though ... give me at least 10 minutes to sort this out!

Damn they are loud!

[Liane]

Its wonderful to have friends!

Jim (my better half most of the time) came to my rescue after I called him in a state of panic. (He lives two minutes away)

He is a very calm kind of guy and all he did was ask the guys to leave ... and they did. It didn't hurt that he brought his next door neighbour's Mastif with him. :)

Have any of you seen a Mastif in living colour? Bloody hell, they are gargantuan dogs! This one is two years old and thinks he is everyones' best friend. How he could intimidate these guys is beyond me ... but it seems to have worked!

I am drained and going to bed. I'll keep you all updated as and when things take shape.

I can't thank you all enough for "being there".

[Mardi_Gras]

Liane - Despite the aggravation, I'm sure you did the right thing. Imagine how you would feel today if you had not reported the incident.

I am sorry for all your troubles. I hope today brings some sunshine.

[dragonlady7]

Oh dear... Good luck, Liane. I thought this was some kind of a joke-- my sister plays the bodhran, a traditional Irish drum usually made with a goat skin, and I was at a festival yesterday with traditional Irish music, and many many jokes about the skins of goats.
The farmer is certainly outside his rights in demanding compensation from you-- if the police are handling it, then they're handling it, and if they're not, then how did he get your address?
I would say it's really not your fault-- if you could have avoided the goat, you would have. Obviously. You were driving, on a road. This is an action that is to be expected on the road. The goat was napping, in the road. While he didn't know any better, this was not the right thing to do. The goat wasn't in the wrong, of course, which is the tragedy in the whole thing-- the farmer was. Sure, it makes sense to let your animals graze on public lands if that's allowed, but aren't goats diurnal? Why on earth wouldn't he supervise his animals, and take them in at night? At least take a little responsibility for his own creatures. I don't know the customs-- maybe that's not possible. But at least he should understand that if his goats are standing in the road, there is considerable danger to them from even the most responsible motorist?

Someone mentioned the dangers to humans in animal-related accidents-- Yes, in my home town (northern suburbs of Troy, NY, or southern suburbs of Saratoga Springs, depending on who you ask) there was an incident where a young single mother of two had a deer jump through her windshield (and deer do that-- it's not that they're just standing there and you hit them, they are often dazzled by the headlights and will actively approach your car). Her children were in the back seat-- she was a very responsible mother and was actually on the way to take them to the doctor for a checkup, and always put them in the back seat because it was safer.
Well, the deer came through the windshield with such force that it broke the front seat and ended up in the back seat-- where it kicked her eight-year-old son to death.

Support for deer hunting in our area went up after that.

I get nervous when I'm driving after dark in woods. I can see their eyeshine. I had one try to jump out in front of me once and it just missed the side of my car. And my mother hit one last summer-- she was going 15 miles an hour on a straight road directly into the sunrise, and the stupid thing came running and leapt in front of her. I do not know what they think they're doing, but she consoled herself with the thought that an animal so stupid would never have survived the harsh winter that came after.

I've only been driving for five or six years, and have never hit anything that wasn't already dead, but I once ran over a recently-killed deer on the highway. It was a busy highway, it was dark, and there were cars in the lanes on either side of me, so I could neither stop nor swerve, but had no choice but to hit it. I'm lucky it didn't damage my car or cause me to lose control, as I had seven passengers and was surrounded by tractor-trailers. Cars are dangerous, to everyone involved.

Anyhow, good luck.

[skipfactor]

Killing sucks. My dog just had a litter of puppies. The mother chewed the legs off of one of them. The vet recommended that I drown her to ease her suffering as she would die anyway. It was horrible. At least yours was unintentional. For the record, I'm also a vegetarian...

On a brighter note, in Colorado, hitting free-range cattle with a car or mountain bike will run you $1000 a head if you survive the crash.

You did the right thing; if they had linked the dead goat & your damaged car sitting in a repair shop with goat hair stuck to it, I'm sure the fines would have been more.

[trillianjedi]

I'm with Lawman here - also, what were the goats doing in the middle of the road?

The goats owner has a responsibility to you also. If the goats were in the road as a result of his negligence (failure to maintain a fence etc), then I would consider that the responsibility is with him, not you.

Can you let us know the full details?

TJ

<EDIT: Just read DragonLady's post. I'm with her and lawman! Don't accept any responsibility until you've ascertained the goat owners responsibility. You could be doing yourself an injustice.>

[dragonlady7]

Don't get me wrong, I grew up in an agricultural area and I'm as sympathetic to the plight of a farmer as anyone else. It's a hard life, and the loss of an animal can be a severe blow.

...

So don't leave it in the middle of a road in the middle of the night!

[skipfactor]

If the goats were in the road as a result of his negligence (failure to maintain a fence etc)

It's nuts but that's the way it is in many places. Where I lived in CO, the "free-range" animals always had the right-of-way. Fencing is irrelevant; these animals are free to go where they please in the summer, then in winter, the ranchers herd them up then drive the whole herd down the highway to market, and you have to drive very slowly as the herd eventually peels out of your way. If you bump one or a bolter jumps in front of you, you're liable, period.

These ranchers have owned the land generations before the roads went in, and the police, judges & juries are always on their side. You can hit an elk, deer, or drunk pedestrian without fine, but you can't hit someone's livelihood.

[trillianjedi]

Skipfactor,

I can see what you're saying, and I can see where the judges etc are coming from with this.

But surely there is a line that is drawn somewhere?

I think any farmer who conciously decides to allow his livestock to wander onto a public highway, automatically assumes an element of risk.

That's the position under UK law, as I understand it.

I appreciate of course that the US is different - but I'm surprised that the farmer gets away with this scott-free.

TJ

[john316]

If you feel for the rancher, you could simply renumerate him the cost of the goat. That should make him "whole". The $900.00 was probably just a starting point for negotiations, try a lot less and work with the guy (if you can).

As for the goat.. Ever heard of Cabrito? [texasmonthly.com]

Good stuff!

[Mardi_Gras]

The $900.00 was probably just a starting point for negotiations

Good point and worth considering.

[digitalghost]

>>The $900.00 was probably just a starting point for negotiations

Nine-hundred bucks for a goat is the starting point for robbery.

[vdacs.state.va.us...]

I've bought more than one goat and NEVER paid anywhere 900 bucks. If it's a "prize-winning" goat it wouldn't have been running loose. If he tells you it was a good "breeding billy" just laugh and let him know that you know that all bucks are good breeders. "Randy as a goat" didn't come about by accident.

[Mardi_Gras]

Perhaps the best bargaining tool is to offer to replace the goats, rather than offering cash.

[vincevincevince]

Your laws in BVI must be awfully tough! Here in the UK you don't have to even stop, let alone report, killing even someone's beloved cat. With a dog you are obliged to report it however.

I can't help thinking about that nice goat stew I'd be having after not even telling the next door neighbour about my roadkill...

Sorry! Guess BVI is a long way from the UK!

[john316]

Keep in mind also that the rancher has probably already "monetized" the goat.

[dmorison]

Don't farmers have livestock insurance?

(or to put it another way, didn't the goat have life insurance?)

[edited by: dmorison at 4:57 pm (utc) on Sep. 22, 2003]

[wackybrit]

I am a little surprised at this thread. Any driver in England (and probably most of Europe) who has been driving for at least a few years will have killed all manner of things. There are too many hedgerows, and animals will run straight out when you're coming, which makes them too late to miss, and you can't see them in advance!

I've struck several rabbits, a giant pheasant, something that looked like a peacock, a fox, and the odd bird. Never a nice thing, but that's life. You don't have to report it here unless it's a horse or a dog, as far as I'm aware. Cats are fair game (and I've seen quite a lot on the road).

There's a place near my house where there's always a duck though, and I had to wait for a few minutes while the mother duck and all of her recently acquired ducklings crossed the road. Very cute :-)

[volatilegx]

I'd offer to replace the goats, but he'd have to sue me to get any cash. And if he did sue, he'd have to try to collect. And then I'd sue him for damaging my vehicle. Obviously he was neglegent in letting his goats run loose.

Of course, this being in the BVI, I have no idea whether a foreigner can even sue a citizen.

My sympathies for your lousy day. I hope it gets better.

[vincevincevince]

Are you sure that the farmer was the owner of the goat? And not someone with a 50:50 agreement with the local police?

[Liane]

Well ... the upshot was that I paid $250.00 for the goat I killed. The goat which ran away has never surfaced and is presumed dead. My stance is that without a body ... I cannot be held accountable. (Don't know if that one will fly, but I figured it was worth a shot!)

Damage to my car was $387.00 for a new head light and $289.00 to fix the front end damage. That was a big "Nubian" male goat I hit!

A total of $666.00 to settle this thing ... so far. Now, I happen to have a religious background and the number "666" is making me crazy, particularly since there was a goat involved. I know it is nonsense ... but it was really upsetting to me. So I gave the farmer another $50.00 for the missing goat.

I am glad its all over and the farmer seems to be appeased. The police didn't charge me and my life is back to normal again.

Life in a small Caribbean nation is much different than in the real world. The frightening part is that this incident could have ruined me if it had played out differently.

So I suppose I should count my blessings and move on. I feel very badly about the goat(s) ... but I did not hurt it (them) intentionally and I will just have to forgive myself ... as will the farmer.

Thanks to all of you for your support!

[AAnnAArchy]

I'm glad that it turned out okay for you. Expensive, but not overwhelmingly so. I would've just given the farmer an extra dollar and made it $667. :)

I guess no matter where you live (just about), there are great things and lousy things. I guess there's often a bigger price for places of great beauty...with yachts. Whodathunk it would be goats though?

[DaveAtIFG]

WebmasterWorld truly is a compassionate place

Not so fast Liane! You forgot about me. Some of the other mods have been trying to beat some diplomacy and tact into my head and I think it's starting to sink in a little. So I'm going to wait a while for the wounds to heal before giving you a hard time about this most recent disaster in your very colorful life. I think 24-36 hours should be more than enough time to wait. Then watch out! ;)

I've been following this thread VERY closely since you first massacred that herd of goats. ;) (I just couldn't wait!) Seriously, I'm very relieved to hear things were resolved reasonably and very pleased to see you posting again!

[deejay]

I'm really glad to hear you got it settled, Liane.. and good for you for putting your foot down on the second goat. :)

<add> cripes... umm.. putting your foot down about the second goat I mean... </add>