Long Arm of Motorway—The Impact of Fenced Road on the Mortality of European Badgers

Abstract

We studied the impact of the new fenced and accident-safe motorway on the mortality of European badgers Meles meles on local roads in western Poland in 2010–2015. We monitored the badgers mortality on local roads of three categories: main roads, secondary roads and county roads. The study was conducted before and after the opening of the motorway in 2012. We hypothesized that the mortality of badgers is lower due to traffic concentration on motorway. Ninety two badgers were killed in collisions with vehicles on all monitored roads. Mean number of killed badgers was lowest in 2010 before the motorway opening and the highest in 2012. The mortality of badgers on regional roads was highest after the opening of the motorway due to the changes in traffic on the access roads. Within the road network, the mortality of badgers was 5.8 individuals/10 km of road per whole study period with the highest rate on main roads 8.5 individuals/10 km. The badgers mortality was highest on county roads but it was lower than expected in relation to the road network density. The highest vehicle collision risk for badgers of both sexes occurred in June. Distance to human settlements was the only environmental factor that was positively related to badger mortality on roads. We conclude that the new motorway did not reduce the mortality rate of badgers on the adjacent roads because the status of local roads has changed and now they mainly function as access roads to the motorway.

Better Safe than Sorry – Understanding the Attitude and Habits of Drivers Can Help Mitigating Animal-Vehicle Collisions

“…The prevalence of physical mitigation measures, i.e., fences and wildlife crossings likely stem from the fact that these are convenient solutions and do not require any sacrifices from the drivers' side. Our results showed that these measures increased the confidence of the drivers, however they were not fully aware the limitations of these (see also Cserkész et al, 2013;Nowakowski et al, 2022). A fence installation on its own can decrease the risk of AVCs with large mammals by 54%, and with the addition of a wildlife crossing, this risk can be reduced by as much as 83% (Rytwinski et al, 2016).…”

“…This perceived security and the relatively low number of AVCs along first-class roads made some drivers to overlook the importance of protective measures against AVC. Although this is partly a misconception, as even the fences can't guarantee complete protection from AVCs (Cserkész et al, 2013;Nowakowski et al, 2022). In fact, as Cserkész et al (2013) noted, 5% of traffic accidents on Hungarian first-class roads are caused by AVCs, emphasizing the need for extra precautions and the importance of additional protective measures along roads.…”

Badger Meles meles as Ecosystem Engineer and Its Legal Status in Europe

“…However, it seems that in some countries, these proportions are similar and distributed more reasonably. In western Poland, between 2010 and 2015, road mortality of badgers (excluding motorway opening effect) did not differ between years [ 169 ]. In relation to the data presented above, Poland belongs to a group of countries with very high hunting bag growth ( Table 3 ).…”

“…In relation to the data presented above, Poland belongs to a group of countries with very high hunting bag growth ( Table 3 ). In line with country-dependent high hunting bag increases, there are no papers reporting an adequate increase of collisions with badgers greater than 100–200% in recent years [ 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 ]. Comparing these data with the rapidly and sharply increasing hunting bag, a question arises–is the badger population in some countries currently overhunted?…”