Wildlife Crossing Infrastructure: Saving Lives on Roads

Roads are among the leading causes of wildlife mortality globally. Wildlife crossings — tunnels, bridges, and underpasses — provide proven infrastructure solutions that save individual animals and maintain population connectivity.

Key Facts

An estimated 1.2 million vertebrates are killed on UK roads every day according to some estimates
Road mortality affects species from hedgehogs and badgers to deer and great crested newts
Wildlife crossings include over-road bridges, under-road tunnels, amphibian underpasses, and otter holts beneath bridges
The Banff Wildlife Crossing in Canada has documented over 200,000 successful wildlife crossings since 1996
Amphibian tunnels combined with drift fencing have reduced road mortality at key migration sites by over 90%
Great crested newt crossing networks have been incorporated into major road schemes in the UK since the 1990s
Badger tunnels under new roads are required under UK planning law for major infrastructure projects
Ecoducts — wide green bridges — allow large mammals, invertebrates, and plant species to cross motorway corridors

Welfare Considerations

Road mortality causes acute individual suffering — animals struck by vehicles suffer traumatic injury, internal bleeding, and prolonged death. The welfare impact is multiplied by the ecological disruption caused by population fragmentation — isolated populations lose genetic diversity, face higher disease risk, and eventually collapse. Wildlife crossing infrastructure represents a genuine win-win: it reduces individual animal suffering while maintaining the population connectivity essential for long-term species viability. The cost-benefit analysis strongly favours crossing infrastructure investment, particularly when incorporated into road construction from the planning stage.

What You Can Do

Advocate for wildlife crossing requirements in all new major road and development projects
Support local road ecology surveys identifying high-mortality hotspots needing mitigation
Volunteer with amphibian patrol groups moving frogs and toads safely across roads in spring
Donate to the Mammal Society and People Trust for Endangered Species road mortality research
Engage with local councils about installing warning signs at known deer and badger crossing points
Drive more slowly at dawn and dusk when wildlife road crossing risk is highest