Police have said they were forced to shoot dead a deer to prevent unnecessary suffering on the A370 just by Long Ashton.
The incident happened last night (Monday, April 6) and shocked many of the passing motorists, who had to wait around 15 minutes for the police to help move the deer to the side of the road.
Louis Hancock was going past the scene at the time. He said: "The A370 heading into Bristol traffic was stopped both ways for about 15-20 minutes. A deer was on the road and in attendance 4 police units.
"Two police cars were normal, one undercover car and an armed response vehicle.
"The deer was moving a lot on the road and looked like it had been hit by a car and did not have a lot of life in it. This was around the time of 17:30.
"Over the course of this time four shots were fired at this deer in full view of members of the public.
"After the two armed police officers had fired and confirmed the animal was dead they pulled it to the side of the road and placed a blue sheet over it.
"After this the police opened the roads again still with the deer on the side of the road and the officers talking."
What the police have said
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police explained the reasons behind the decision to shoot the deer in front of motorists.
They said: "We were called at 5pm yesterday (Monday 6 April) to reports of a deer being struck by a vehicle on the Long Ashton Bypass.
"The animal was severely injured and not able to survive.
"Armed officers were dispatched to prevent the deer suffering unnecessarily."
