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No more squashed hedgehogs?

May 29, 2002

Wildlife road deaths are preventable according to the results of a survey carried out by The Mammal Society that are released today.

Chairman of The Mammal Society, Professor Stephen Harris said "The Mammal Society's National Road Death Survey provides us with the information we need to reduce mammal deaths on roads. It shows that the number of mammal deaths on roads is directly related to the landscape as much as to the numbers of mammals and that improved road designs will reduce the numbers of dead mammals seen on our roads."

The Mammal Society's National Road Death Survey was carried out over one year between June 2000 and June 2001. 281 volunteers across Britain took part recording mammal deaths on roads as well as details of the road and surrounding habitat. The survey found that the location of mammal deaths on roads was associated with several features:

- Nearby wildlife corridors which connect with or cross the road; these act to funnel the mammals towards the traffic.
Mammals often forage for food along linear features as well as using them as territorial boundaries; deaths are commonly recorded where these features cross roads. This was true for hedgehogs, badgers, foxes, mink, otters, muntjac deer, rats, stoats and weasels.

- Road boundary features such as ditches and tree lines, these are used as temporary cover before mammals attempt road crossings.
e.g. Woodland is an important habitat for grey squirrels and their deaths on roads are associated with boundary tree lines.

- The surrounding habitat and adjacent land use.
e.g. Badger density and activity is highest in areas of pasture and a lot of badger road deaths occur adjacent to this habitat, while hedgehog road deaths are associated with urban areas.

These features can be used to identify hotspots in the road network where most deaths will occur and suitable mitigation measures can be carried out.

5675 mammal road deaths were recorded between June 2000 and June 2001 in The Mammal Society's National Road Death Survey. The mammals most commonly found dead on roads were hedgehogs, badgers, foxes and grey squirrels. Together these made up 89% of all the mammal road deaths recorded.

Mammal Society, The

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