Please find below a letter I have sent to our local paper after the death of our kitten. Am I being unreasonable in my thoughts?
We, like so many other people in this supposed animal loving nation, cherish our pets and consider them as part of our family. So I am sure many, if not all, the residents of Westbury can empathise with the anguish and grief we felt upon discovering our beloved 8 month old kitten had been run over and killed on Hinwood road during the early hours of March 4.
I found her lying in the road whilst setting off on my journey to work. Her adorable white and tabby frame had been battered beyond recognition by the procession of traffic, (whos occupants either lacked the compassion or the stomach to move her hapless body the 3 feet to the safe haven of the footpath) that felt it easier or more comfortable to drive over her. I was only able to indentify that it was indeed one of our family, Sylvie, by the collar and identity tag we had loving put around her neck not so many months earlier in a hope that should she be lost or injured that we could be contacted.
I know that accidents happen and that some cats dont have the greatest of road sense. What I cant believe is that even the most sensually impaired driver would not realise that they had hit something in the road. I find it even more incredulous that in that knowledge they would not stop and take appropriate action. If guilt, fear of recriminations, or the lack of a phone deterred the purportrator from contacting us, I would have hoped the very least somebody with even an ounce of humanity would have done would be to put her body out of line of further damage saving us from the gruesome image that now haunts us.
A stark reminder of the fate that bestowed our beautiful little kitten is the blood stained road where her body lay that morning and one which saddens me terribly everyday I have to pass it.
During our near 6 years in Westbury we have lost 2 cats to traffic along this stretch of road. There is an imposed 30mph limit upon entering Westbury from any direction but I have witnessed numerous vehicles exceeding this along Hinwood Rd, including very recently, a lorry laden with sheep thundering along the road in the dawn light with no hope of stopping in an emergency. Sylvie lost her life at the very point where the younger Hinwood and Brockton Wood contingency cross to and from the playing fields and with the blatant disregard of the speed limit I feel drastic needs must be taken to avoid any more fatalities.
I will be campaigning for speed reducing features, possibly speed humps, on this stretch of road between the Lion and the pumping station and would welcome any assistace in getting these measured implemented. If any good can come from Sylvies early and undignified death let it be that the same or worse does not happen again.
