Men are far less likely than women to help a pet injured in a hit-and-run accident it seems.  A survey commissioned by Yorkshire-based pet insurance provider The Insurance Emporium revealed that a 25% of men would not bother to stop to help an injured dog, whereas only 16% of women admitted this.  

The chance of someone stopping to help an injured cat was more unlikely than for a dog, especially where men were concerned.  31% of men admitted they would not stop at all for an injured cat even if it was safe to do so.  Women claimed they were more compassionate, with only around 18% admitting they would not help if they saw a cat injured in a road accident.

It seems that pet owners are considerably softer when it comes to helping injured cats and dogs compared to the general population.  Around 80% of cat and dog owners said they would stop and get medical help whereas only around half of non-pet owners said the same.

53% of people in the survey admitted they had no idea what their responsibilities were when it came to informing the authorities or getting medical help for injured cats and dogs.  Ironically, more men (61%) claimed they knew their responsibilities in this situation compared to women (50%) – even if the men were statistically far less likely to actually stop and help the animal in the first place.              

Perhaps unsurprisingly, people were a bit less likely to take any action at all if the animal was already dead, whether it was a cat or dog.  However 53% of women in the survey still said that they would check a dog’s animal’s collar for identification so the owners could be informed, whereas only around 29% of men said this.  

The Insurance Emporium’s Chief Executive Officer, Francis Martin, said: “As pet insurance providers, we know all too well that unfortunately road accidents with pets can and do happen.  A person who runs over a dog is obliged to report it as quickly as possible to the police, whether the animal is injured or dead.  Whilst injuring or killing a cat does not carry the same legal responsibilities, stopping if it is safe to do so, getting medical help and informing the police are the right things to do.”

Advice given by The Metropolitan Police on their official website states that: 

“If you hit a dog, horse, cow, pig, goat, sheep or donkey (or a mule) then you must report that to us, whether the animal is killed or not…. If you come across animals loose on the road and there’s a danger to traffic, call 999. ”