Motorists, the RACQ and the RSPCA are all reporting that more wildlife has been seen on the roads coming into winter.
June, July and August have been recorded as the peak times for both animal injuries and wildlife collision insurance claims for motorists in Queensland.
RSPCA Queensland spokesman Michael Beatty said now was the time to be more cautious on the roads due to the increased animal numbers and earlier nightfall.
“Really the one thing people can do to help is to slow down on the roads,” he said.
“We know it is getting darker and this is when these incidents occur.”
From RACQ data collected between May 2014 to April 2017, there were a total of 10,521 animal collision claims lodged across Queensland.
The total cost for the three years was $45 million.
December and February, two of the three summer months, had the lowest number of claims and despite not having the highest number of animal collision claims, October is the costliest month for this claim type.
WILDLIFE AWARENESS
RACQ spokesperson Kirsty Clinton said it was imperative for motorists to look out for signage showing where there is a greater likelihood of animals.
“Wherever you are, always ensure you are driving to the conditions,” she said.
”Animals, like children, are unpredictable and fast.”
In 2016, the RSPCA took in 22,000 animals for care – a marked increase from just four years ago, when the intake numbers were around 8500.
Mr Beatty said kangaroos are likely not to recover from an injury which was sustained on the road.
“We do care for a lot of joeys though who do survive in crashes,” he said.
“If you do hit an animal we ask you to call our hotline 1300 ANIMAL and that way we can send the animal ambulance or a local wildlife carer,” he said.
“We do ask for your patience but there is always someone available on that hotline.”
