Tanisha N.  ChilturStoller Middle SchoolAbstractRoadkill is kills over 1000000 animals a year. It is a grave problem. Literally.

It brings animals to their graves. Many people don’t realize that it is happening and it is killing people as well. There are many facts on roadkill that will amaze you at how big a problem it is. The problem is that nobody knows about it, so they don’t study why it happens. That’s why there are no working solutions. This piece of information contains facts about roadkill, “solutions”, and why you should care.

Roadkill is a Growing Problem and it Requires New SolutionsThere are over 4.5 million miles of roadway in the United States of America.  One million animals are killed yearly along those roads.

 That’s just in the United States.  This is commonly called roadkill.  It poses a danger upon us humans and the creatures that roam our world.  Can a device be created to stop all these innocent animals from dying so cruelly?Since so many animals get killed on the road, why do other animals cross the road? Animals cross the road for many reasons, usually important.  They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t have to.  They do it when they are migrating, tracking a mate, and looking for food and water (Hugo, 2016) .  If humans didn’t construct buildings and roads in their habitats they wouldn’t have had to cross roads.

 Another reason why animals cross the road is because they are running away from predators.  Since the roads cross through their habitats, they have no choice but to cross it(Winsa, 2012).  Many animals get killed on busy roads like highways and freeways.  Animals don’t have much of a chance on those crowded streets(Winsa, 2012).  When they cross they are either too small to be seen or too big to be swerved around.  That’s why animals cross the road: for survival.

Why should humans care? Of course nobody feels good killing an animal, but what effect does it have on us? Many humans die when these encounters happen.  Crashing into an animal has claimed 2307 lives of humans.  Human fatalities rose by 67% from 1994 to 2006(White, p.

 2).  Young drivers, around the age the age of 15 to 24 are found to be most likely to crash with bigger animals (White, p.  2) .  This has happened a lot.  Usually death or massive injuries on both sides occurs.

 Some drivers swerve off the road to avoid the animals.  What they don’t know is that they may not be putting the animal in risk but himself in risk of death or serious injury.  They could hit a tree or fall off of a ledge.  Either way the car is damaged.

 (Hugo, 2016)Billions of dollars a year are spent fixing cars after hitting an animal on the road.  Hitting and animals is no good to anybody or anything.  It hurts the car, animals, and human.

 After an animal dies what happens to them? There are some laws about what happens.  Once the animals die they are sometimes eaten by a predators.  Sometimes they are harvested and eaten.  (Hugo, 2016)They are used for scientific research or the bones and fur – if the animal has any – are displayed by a museum.

 Kate Brown, governor of Oregon, signed the bill for legally being able to harvest roadkill.  Even though she signed it, many Oregonians voiced opposition.  They said people will use it to illegally hunt(Selsky, 2017).  Todd Toven of Castle Rock, thinks differently.  “We are taking perfectly clean, cold meat,” he said.  Many don’t oppose the law.”Eating roadkill is healthier for the consumer than meat laden with antibiotics,” noted by people for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA (Selsky, 2017).

Since it is legal to harvest roadkill in many states, they are allowed to cook it.  So it’s okay to harvest and eat roadkill.  It’s a way to get food and it makes good use of the animal.  So many animals are killed because of roadkill.

 There are many different animals that die because of roadkill.  Some get killed more often than others.  Racoons are some of the ones that get killed a lot.  3,258 raccoons die yearly.  They are the ones who get killed most often.

1,533 squirrels die yearly too.  Cts die almost as much as squirrels, with a rate of 1,336 dying yearly(Winsa, 2012).  Some of the animals that don’t get killed as often but still a lot are birds, dogs, and skunks.  354 birds die yearly, 229 dogs die yearly, while 191 skunks die yearly(Winsa, 2012).  Animals like possums, rodents, and groundhogs don’t die nearly as much  as the others.  Possums at a rate of 155 annually, rodents with 86 each year, and groundhogs with 69 yearly(Winsa, 2012).  Those are the animals that get killed and are reported.

 There are so many of them.There are some solutions and monitoring apps… It’s just they have some problems.  One of them is called Interactive Maps(Ayres, 2016).

 It’s a monitoring system.  Anyone who spots roadkill can add to the map, which shows the places that roadkill happens.  Then they can figure out where roadkill is happening.  This is used in California state, but not very often.  Since it’s only a monitoring device, people don’t take the time to map the roadkill.  Another solution is called Fluorescent Antler Paint(Ayres, 2016).  It is supposed to be painted onto the antler of an animal.  In the dark it shines so that drivers can see them.

 How’s it supposed to get it on every antler in the forest? It doesn’t.  This why it can’t work.  There are many more but this is the last in this paper.

 It is called Scent Fence(Ayres, 2016).  They are an odor infused foam that contains the scent of a big predator that is sprayed on the trees near the road.  It directs animals away from the road.  This doesn’t work because animals need to cross the road for important things.  In the end there really are no efficient, commonly used, or working solutions to stop roadkill. Roadkill is a terrible thing that happens so often.  So many animals die and there is still no solution.  The animals are all just doing what is necessary to live.

 Even us humans don’t get any benefit out of killing the animal.  It’s expensive as well.  A solution would be so easy to find.

 This rise in the amount of animals dying is huge ever since cars arrived.  Can a device be created to stop all these innocent animals from dying so cruelly? ReferencesThere are over 4.5 million miles of roadway in the United States of America.  One million animals are killed yearly along those roads.  That’s just in the United States.  This is commonly called roadkill.  It poses a danger upon us humans and the creatures that roam our world.

 Can a device be created to stop all these innocent animals from dying so cruelly?Since so many animals get killed on the road, why do other animals cross the road? Animals cross the road for many reasons, usually important.  They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t have to.  They do it when they are migrating, tracking a mate, and looking for food and water(Hugo, 2016).  If humans didn’t construct buildings and roads in their habitats they wouldn’t have had to cross roads.  Another reason why animals cross the road is because they are running away from predators.  Since the roads cross through their habitats, they have no choice but to cross it(Winsa, 2012).

 Many animals get killed on busy roads like highways and freeways.  Animals don’t have much of a chance on those crowded streets(Winsa, 2012).  When they cross they are either too small to be seen or too big to be swerved around.  That’s why animals cross the road: for survival.Why should humans care? Of course nobody feels good killing an animal, but what effect does it have on us? Many humans die when these encounters happen.  Crashing into an animal has claimed 2307 lives of humans.  Human fatalities rose by 67% from 1994 to 2006(White, p.

 2).  Young drivers, around the age the age of 15 to 24 are found to be most likely to crash with bigger animals(White, p.  2).

 This has happened a lot.  Usually death or massive injuries on both sides occurs.  Some drivers swerve off the road to avoid the animals.

 What they don’t know is that they may not be putting the animal in risk but himself in risk of death or serious injury.  They could hit a tree or fall off of a ledge.  Either way the car is damaged.

 (Hugo, 2016)Billions of dollars a year are spent fixing cars after hitting an animal on the road.  Hitting and animals is no good to anybody or anything.  It hurts the car, animals, and human.  After an animal dies what happens to them? There are some laws about what happens.

 Once the animals die they are sometimes eaten by a predators.  Sometimes they are harvested and eaten.  (Hugo, 2016)They are used for scientific research or the bones and fur – if the animal has any – are displayed by a museum.  Kate Brown, governor of Oregon, signed the bill for legally being able to harvest roadkill.  Even though she signed it, many Oregonians voiced opposition.  They said people will use it to illegally hunt(Selsky, 2017).  Todd Toven of Castle Rock, thinks differently.  “We are taking perfectly clean, cold meat,” he said.

 Many don’t oppose the law.”Eating roadkill is healthier for the consumer than meat laden with antibiotics,” noted by people for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA (Selsky, 2017).Since it is legal to harvest roadkill in many states, they are allowed to cook it.  So it’s okay to harvest and eat roadkill.  It’s a way to get food and it makes good use of the animal.  So many animals are killed because of roadkill.

 There are many different animals that die because of roadkill.  Some get killed more often than others.  Racoons are some of the ones that get killed a lot.  3,258 raccoons die yearly.  They are the ones who get killed most often.

1,533 squirrels die yearly too.  Cts die almost as much as squirrels, with a rate of 1,336 dying yearly(Winsa, 2012).  Some of the animals that don’t get killed as often but still a lot are birds, dogs, and skunks.  354 birds die yearly, 229 dogs die yearly, while 191 skunks die yearly(Winsa, 2012).  Animals like possums, rodents, and groundhogs don’t die nearly as much  as the others.

 Possums at a rate of 155 annually, rodents with 86 each year, and groundhogs with 69 yearly(Winsa, 2012).  Those are the animals that get killed and are reported.  There are so many of them.

There are some solutions and monitoring apps… It’s just they have some problems.  One of them is called Interactive Maps(Ayres, 2016).  It’s a monitoring system.  Anyone who spots roadkill can add to the map, which shows the places that roadkill happens.  Then they can figure out where roadkill is happening.  This is used in California state, but not very often.

 Since it’s only a monitoring device, people don’t take the time to map the roadkill.  Another solution is called Fluorescent Antler Paint(Ayres, 2016).  It is supposed to be painted onto the antler of an animal.  In the dark it shines so that drivers can see them.  How’s it supposed to get it on every antler in the forest? It doesn’t.

 This why it can’t work.  There are many more but this is the last in this paper.  It is called Scent Fence(Ayres, 2016).  They are an odor infused foam that contains the scent of a big predator that is sprayed on the trees near the road.  It directs animals away from the road.  This doesn’t work because animals need to cross the road for important things.

 In the end there really are no efficient, commonly used, or working solutions to stop roadkill. Roadkill is a terrible thing that happens so often.  So many animals die and there is still no solution.  The animals are all just doing what is necessary to live.  Even us humans don’t get any benefit out of killing the animal.  It’s expensive as well.  A solution would be so easy to find.  This rise in the amount of animals dying is huge ever since cars arrived.

 Can a device be created to stop all these innocent animals from dying so cruelly? References Defenders of Wildlife, %W.  (n.d).  Watch Out for Wildlife Facts.  Retrieved January 18, 2018, from https://defenders.org/sites/default/files/publications/collision_facts_and_figures.

pdfEverything You Were Afraid to Ask About Roadkill (2016, August 09).  Retrieved Retrieved January 11, 2018 from https://news.nationalgeographic.

com/2016/08/roadkill-animals-disposal-science-food/M.A.  (2016, December 28).

 the ingenious technology being used to prevent roadkill.  Retrieved January 15, 2018, fromhttp://community.lovenature.com/wild/the-ingenious-technology-being-used-to-prevent-wildlife-roadkillPress, A.

S.  (2017, June 22).  Roadkill: Its whats for dinner? Oregon OKs harvesting animals killed by cars.  Retrieved January 15, 2018 from http://kval.com/news/local/roadkill-its-whats-for-dinner-oregon-oks-harvesting-animals-killed-by-cars