Road traffic kills billions of wild animals annually, representing one of the largest ongoing sources of acute welfare harm to wildlife. Effective mitigation measures exist and can dramatically reduce roadkill rates.
Road traffic mortality causes acute welfare harm at massive scale. Animals hit by vehicles may die immediately, may be severely injured and die slowly over hours, or may be left injured on or near the road unable to move. For breeding adults, road mortality removes the welfare investment of the animal and leaves dependent young. The scale of this welfare problem is enormous and largely invisible because individual mortality events are dispersed across road networks. Effective mitigation - wildlife crossings, guiding fencing, toad tunnels, and roadkill-informed road design - reduces this welfare harm substantially at known hotspots. Citizen science recording is an accessible form of welfare action that identifies where investment is most needed.