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topicnews · July 19, 2025

The police are looking for the driver who killed 7 geese. Can Roadkill be a crime?

The police are looking for the driver who killed 7 geese. Can Roadkill be a crime?

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One driver beat and killed several geese in New Jersey, and the police tries to find out whether this was deliberately carried out to the birds, who are often victims of fatal road encounters, but are protected by wildlife laws.

The police reacted to reports about a vehicle that met several geese that crossed the street at around 6.45 p.m. on July 14th, and discovered seven goose deadlines in Spotswood, New Jersey, a community of just over 8,000 people over 40 miles outside of New York City. The driver of the vehicle left the scene, said the Spotswood Police Department in a statement. The department checks the surveillance material and asks for witnesses to report.

It is not yet clear whether the driver has deliberately or accidentally hit the geese, the department said and found that he could violate state and federal regulations to deliberately violate geese.

“We take all incidents with wild animals seriously, especially those that can intentionally harm the animals,” said captain Edward Schapley.

A review of news articles and government reports shows that collisions with wild animals, especially geese, in the United States during travel encounters, which are sometimes considered intended, occur relatively frequently. In June, a municipality in Wichita, Kansas, was unsettled by seven geese that were dead on a street. Two weeks later, a chase ended with a driver in a stolen vehicle with an accident against a fence and 12 dead geese, said the Sheriff's office in Dorchester County, South Carolina. Before two summers, a group of people used their cars to stop traffic to help a crack of 150 to 200 geese in Henderson, Nevada, a driver around them and beat at least nine geese, said a witness ABC Affiliate KTNV.

So what should you do if you meet geese or other animals that block the street? Here is what to know:

How often are car collisions with wild animals?

It is believed that ten or even hundreds of millions of birds are killed in collisions with cars in the USA every year. Researchers found in a study published in 2014 in the Journal of Wildlife Management. Cars that beat birds can even contribute to population declines for some species, as the authors of the study found.

While birds may not harm cars, larger animals certainly do it. At some point between 1 and 2 million accidents between vehicles and large animals such as deer, every year appear in the country, and according to a report by the Federal Highway Administration of the Ministry of Transport, the number seemed to rise from 2008. Around 200 lives are lost in these collisions annually and 26,000 people are injured annually, which also causes compensation of $ 8 billion per year.

Animals can try to cross streets to reach food, water or accommodation, experts say. Most animals can cross roads with little traffic with a low problem, but with increasing traffic there are more collisions and animals can grow to avoid busy roads and to isolate them from other animals and habitats on the other, according to the Washington Ministry of Transport.

“The peak time to meet deer in Utah is in November,” said Daniel Olson, coordinator of the migration initiative of migration of wildlife resources in Utah.

Timing coincides with the mating season when more deer crosses streets or friends during the migration, said Olson. A lower visibility in the dark, when the time of the daylight ends, also contributes to collisions, he said.

What to do when you see animals that block the street

When driving, pay attention to signs that indicate that wild animals cross the street. If you see a group of animals trying to cross a street or blocking a street, you should not intentionally enter you, say wildlife experts and supporters.

Human security is of the greatest importance, so you should only stop if this is safe, said the non -profit defenders of the wildlife. If it is certain, brake firmly, but make sure that your brakes will not be blocked so that you do not lose control. Do not be silent or do not leave your lane to avoid an animal, the group said and found that many accidents occur when someone flows to avoid animals and to meet the oncoming traffic or an inpatient object like a tree.

When a group of animals crosses the street, they don't try to drive through them or go out of their car. You can try to flash your lights or to honk your horn to encourage you out of the way, said the defenders of the wildlife. As soon as you move, drive carefully until you clear the area.

If the animal is a slowly moving turtle on the street and you have to move it out of safety, help to cross it in the direction in which it went. You can use a car mat or other flat surface to avoid you picked up with your hands, said the US fish and wildlife service.

If you hit an animal, you should use your turn signals, torches or reflective triangles if you have them to warn other drivers, said the wild animals defenders. Contact police, state and transport agencies to report the collision. Do not try to approach an injured animal as it bite or steps.

Goose, other wildlife are protected according to the federal law

Goose, including the general Canada goose, are protected according to the 1918 Migration Bird Treaty Act, which prohibits the deliberate damage or killing of many bird species. The Spotwood police authority said that she can violate both state and federal regulations.

The efforts to protect wild animals that tend to cross streets included the installation of wildlife crossings, in which you are designed by humans such as tunnels or bridges that are intended for animals to cross busy and dangerous roads. These intersections can range from small tunnels for amphibians to caste structures for larger mammals such as deer.

Several states, including California, Florida and Colorado, have passed the legislation to install or assess wildlife transitions how the new street infrastructure will affect the migration patterns of the wild animals, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Signs for the warning drivers that an area for frequent wildlife transitions is known, the Toronto Wildlife Center can also be communicated at its location.

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