Christchurch residents seek payments for damages caused by rampaging deer

Christchurch residents seek payments for damages caused by rampaging deer | Insurance Business New Zealand

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Christchurch residents seek payments for damages caused by rampaging deer

Wild deer damaged homes, cars

Insurance News

By
Abigail Adriatico

Residents from Halswell in Christchurch aired their concerns about who will be paying for the damages caused by rampaging deer to their cars and homes, according to a report by NZ Herald.

On Sunday, the three deer were seen wreaking havoc around the suburbs and causing damage to the properties of residents, ranging from a hole in one’s roof to several vehicles.

The Christchurch City Council said that the animals were outside their jurisdiction as they were not tagged. While a spokesperson from the council said that its job did not involve managing wild animals, affected residents were left to wonder who will be paying for the damages.

“I don’t think I’ll go for insurance because the excess will be more than it costs to fix… I don’t think Mother Nature has insurance either,” said Sam Palmer, a resident in Halswell whose roof got a hole after one of the animals rammed it.

A spokesperson from the police stated that there had been reports of deer sightings around Halswell around the afternoon of Sept. 22. A report had said that a car had hit a deer, causing it to flee into the bushes while the driver had to deal with their damaged vehicle.

Some residents took to social media to share several images of sightings such as one of a deer jumping down the middle of a road and a broken fence together with a clump of deer hair and prints.

According to the article, there had been no more sightings of the animals since 5pm on Sept. 22.

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