4400 wild animals a year

Almost 500 hares as victims of road traffic

Does the hare bring the Easter eggs? In any case, they live dangerously: in Carinthia alone, almost 500 hares are run over every year.

(Bild: P. Huber)

The habitat of wild animals is disturbed by our settlements and roads. More than 4400 wild animals are run down and fatally injured by vehicles in Carinthia every year.

The habitat of hares is around 20 square kilometers in size and is often intersected by roads - in Carinthia by 11,700 kilometers of roads. As a result, around 500 hares die every year because they are hit by vehicles. There are particularly many hares on the road at the moment because it is mating season. Verkehrsclub Österreich and WWF emphasize the importance of stopping urban sprawl and instead strengthening town centers and local amenities. Traffic-saving settlement development reduces the traffic load for both people and animals.

Deer die most frequently in road traffic; most recently, 2,824 deer were hit and fatally injured by motor vehicles in Carinthia in one year.

The second largest group of victims are hares. At 489 hares, the number of reported victims was around 50 lower than in the previous year, report VCÖ and WWF. Within five years, more than 2500 hares were killed in road traffic. The number of unreported cases is higher. The statistics only include reports received by the district authorities.

479 foxes and 181 badgers were also killed by vehicles.