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 »  Home  »  transport  »  Roadkill and the environment
Roadkill and the environment
By Green Living Tips | Published  11/16/2006 | transport , pets
The evironmental impact of roadkill

It's not a pleasant topic, but one that needs addressing. Did you realize that the animals you accidentally hit with your car may wind up killing many others?

It's a horrid feeling, that "thump" as you hit an animal with a vehicle. I hit a kangaroo once while travelling at around 100km/hr (60 mph). It did a fair amount of damage to my van, but even though it was killed pretty much instantly, I was upset for a long time about killing the poor creature.

When we accidentally hit animals, most people don't bother stopping and leave the animal where it lies. There's a couple of issues here:

a) The animal may still be alive and in need of assistance

b) If the animal is indeed dead, the carcass will attract other animals who may feed on it.

If the animal you've killed is still on the road or just on the side of it; the chances are great that other animals coming in to feed may be hit by another vehicle. In Australia alone, it's estimated that over 10 million animals are killed in this way.

Wherever you can, drag the animal well away from the road. I suggest keeping a pair of gloves in your car for this purpose - gloves can also be handy in the case of breakdowns. This can help protect you from any disease that the animal may be carrying and lessen the chances of coming into contact with other parasites. Soak the gloves in bleach if you should find the need to use them for this purpose.

Caution: be extremely careful before moving the animal that it is in fact dead. An injured animal can be understandably aggressive.


 
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Michael Bloch
Green Living Tips.com
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Comments
  • Comment #1 (Posted by Angie Tapper)

    As a first time visitor of this site and a member of a family that is new to the "green" movement, I have been doing my reading on environmental friendliness. I do agree with removing the animals from the road. However, from what I've read, bleach cannot be the answer for disinfecting your gloves. Bleach should not be in anyone's home. Although, I have heard that AAA does help with roadkill whether the caller is a member or not. Everyone has a cell phone. There has to be an easier solution.
     
  • Comment #2 (Posted by abby)

    Some places have 'roadkill lists'. If someone hits a deer and calls it in, the sheriff's office calls people on the list to pick up the animal for butchering and eating. (Note that it *is* fresh, this is for animals that have been hit and they immediately call up someone to get it and you have to pick it up immediately. You just have to get over the "roadkill" connotation.) Some of the meat is unusable due to the impact or the car, but a good amount of it is just fine for human consumption.
     
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