Care over 17,000 rabbits in road traffic every year - it hits the animals so hard!
Care over 17,000 rabbits in road traffic every year - it hits the animals so hard!
In Austria, the traffic victims under wild animals accept worrying proportions. Every year, more than 17,000 rabbits fall victim to road traffic, which corresponds to an average of two rabbits per hour, as OTS . But not only rabbits suffer from this problem: more than 50,000 other wild animals, including deer, pheasant and foxes, are also killed on the streets. These terrifying numbers illustrate the need for immediate measures to regulate road construction and the area sealing.
The responsible organizations VCÖ and WWF require a stop of the erilation and a binding upper limit for soil consumption. Austria currently has a far -reaching road network of over 128,000 kilometers, which cuts many habitats of the wild animals. In addition, around 11 hectares of valuable soil occurred from 2015 to 2024, which is far above the set target of 2.5 hectares per day.
numbers and facts about the wildlife victims
The extent of wildlife mortality due to road traffic is alarming. In the past ten years, a total of 205,000 rabbits and wild rabbits have been killed while crossing streets. The state of Lower Austria with 8,486 rabbits killed are particularly affected, followed by Upper Austria (3,887), Burgenland (2,215) and Styria (2,065). The road network in these regions is considerable, with Lower Austria having around 35,000 kilometers on streets alone.
This fragmentation of the habitats not only has a direct impact on animal populations, but also influences the entire ecosystems. According to a study published in the specialist magazine Science and uses the OpenStreetMAP data platform, fragmentation through streets is a worldwide problem. Streets connect people and inexpensive access to markets, but contribute to the cutting of biotopes and the risk of soil erosion.
The consequences of area sealing
roads not only represent barriers for the animal kingdom, but also lead to restrictions on ecosystem services such as pollination, water filtration and the provision of food sources. Scientists warn that the biological diversity currently disappears 114 times faster than naturally, and it could take millions of years to regenerate. Forecasts show that the road network could grow by more than 60 percent by 2050, which would further reinforce the challenges of biodiversity and the preservation of habitats.
The preservation of street -free areas is in constant conflict with the goals of infrastructure development. Projects such as rural path construction in Laos, which is promoted by the KfW development bank, are intended to improve access to markets, but also cause the risk that valuable ecosystems will be affected. Scientists therefore call for a global strategy to maintain and monitor natural habitats to protect the still existing ecosystems, such as Details Ort Niederösterreich, Österreich Quellen
Kommentare (0)