Road infrastructure kills millions of animals annually through vehicle collisions. Wildlife crossing infrastructure and speed management dramatically reduce this preventable suffering.
Roadkill represents one of the most widespread sources of wildlife welfare harm, affecting an estimated 365 million individual animals in the US annually. Each collision involves a sentient animal experiencing a collision impact that may cause broken bones, internal injuries, and neurological trauma. Animals that are not killed instantly may lie injured for hours or days before dying or being found. The welfare scale is enormous - billions of animals killed or injured globally by vehicles each year. Wildlife crossing infrastructure - underpasses, overpasses, and fencing that guides animals to crossing points - dramatically reduces this mortality where implemented. The economic and welfare case for investing in crossing infrastructure is strong: reduced collisions benefit both animals and vehicle safety.