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Are you a roadkill killer? Chances are – yes, yes you are.

Web Watch sees it every day.

Animal carcasses by the side of the road.  Usually it’s a skunk or an opposum.

Sometimes a raccoon.  Occasionally a rabbit.  Wild animals that just don’t know how to cross a road safely (which may explain why we never see a chicken at the side of the road — apparently, chickens know how to cross the road).

Once in a while we see a deer.

We even saw a dead moose once.  No idea how the car that hit that monstrosity survived.

Roadkill Stuffed Toy
Splat, the Road Kill Cat stuffed animal toy

But, according to a RECENT ROADKILL STUDY, we shouldn’t be too surprised that there are as many animals stacked up by the side of the road as we happen to run across.

Look, Web Watch tries to swerve out of the way when a creature crosses our path.  WE know that the squirrel has no idea how to avoid us, barrelling towards it at highway speeds.  He’s just caught, trying to get a nut.

So we swerve, and carefully look in our rearview mirror to ensure that the animal we just scared half-to-death was able to scamper to the other side of the highway without incident.

But that study says that not every driver is as concerned about wild animal welfare as Web Watch is.

Apparently, 6% of all drivers out there purposefully go out of their way to try to hit and kill animals that happen to get in their way.

Yes, there are roadkill hunters out there.  And if it’s not you, then look around – chances are you know someone who is one.

The study was done, not with real animals, but with harmless rubber toys that were thrown into the middle of the roadway to scare unsuspecting drivers.

  •  3.2% of drivers tried to kill the rubber tarantula
  • 1.8% tried to rid the world of snakes
  • 1% even tried to take out a rubber turtle

What about you?  What do you do when a wild animal crosses your path on the highway?  Would you go out of your way to hit it — and if so, what animal would you try to smack into if given the opportunity?  Leave your thoughts in the comments below…