Reducing the Incidence of Mammals on Public Highways Using Chemical Repellent
In Lithuania, one of the measures to reduce the number of wildlife-vehicle accidents (WVA) is the fencing of highways. However, any gaps in the fencing have the potential to become an animal crossing site and consequently are likely to lead to increased WVA. Attempting to reduce the number of animal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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RTU Press
2012-06-01
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| Series: | The Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://bjrbe-journals.rtu.lv/article/view/3602 |
| _version_ | 1811222277427036160 |
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| author | Linas Balčiauskas Marius Jasiulionis |
| author_facet | Linas Balčiauskas Marius Jasiulionis |
| author_sort | Linas Balčiauskas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Lithuania, one of the measures to reduce the number of wildlife-vehicle accidents (WVA) is the fencing of highways. However, any gaps in the fencing have the potential to become an animal crossing site and consequently are likely to lead to increased WVA. Attempting to reduce the number of animals venturing onto roads, trials with the chemical repellent Wam Porocol® were conducted. This was the first such investigation in Lithuania. The effectiveness of Wam Porocol® was investigated over a six-month period in five gaps in the fencing, with five parallel control places without repellent also checked. In total, 11 mammal species (nine wild and two domestic) were registered, the most frequent of which were roe deer (32 cases), red foxes (18), raccoon dogs (16), red deer and martens (14 of each), plus domestic dogs (13 cases). Hoofed animals accounted for 42.1% of the total, with wild and domestic carnivores totalling 57%. It was found that, on average, every gap in the fencing allows the passage of 300–400 mammals onto the highway annually. Applying repellent, these numbers were reduced to 170–240 animals annually. Thus, the repellent Wam Porocol® reduced the number of mammals venturing onto highways by 42%. The daily average of gap-crossing mammal numbers was significantly lower (p < 0.025) using repellent than in control places. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:13:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-15a2d1d1ee5c4a4cb4e76a706122927d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1822-427X 1822-4288 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:13:01Z |
| publishDate | 2012-06-01 |
| publisher | RTU Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-15a2d1d1ee5c4a4cb4e76a706122927d2022-12-22T03:40:53ZengRTU PressThe Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering1822-427X1822-42882012-06-0172929710.3846/bjrbe.2012.132011Reducing the Incidence of Mammals on Public Highways Using Chemical RepellentLinas Balčiauskas0Marius Jasiulionis1Nature Research Centre, Akademijos g. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, LithuaniaNature Research Centre, Akademijos g. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, LithuaniaIn Lithuania, one of the measures to reduce the number of wildlife-vehicle accidents (WVA) is the fencing of highways. However, any gaps in the fencing have the potential to become an animal crossing site and consequently are likely to lead to increased WVA. Attempting to reduce the number of animals venturing onto roads, trials with the chemical repellent Wam Porocol® were conducted. This was the first such investigation in Lithuania. The effectiveness of Wam Porocol® was investigated over a six-month period in five gaps in the fencing, with five parallel control places without repellent also checked. In total, 11 mammal species (nine wild and two domestic) were registered, the most frequent of which were roe deer (32 cases), red foxes (18), raccoon dogs (16), red deer and martens (14 of each), plus domestic dogs (13 cases). Hoofed animals accounted for 42.1% of the total, with wild and domestic carnivores totalling 57%. It was found that, on average, every gap in the fencing allows the passage of 300–400 mammals onto the highway annually. Applying repellent, these numbers were reduced to 170–240 animals annually. Thus, the repellent Wam Porocol® reduced the number of mammals venturing onto highways by 42%. The daily average of gap-crossing mammal numbers was significantly lower (p < 0.025) using repellent than in control places.https://bjrbe-journals.rtu.lv/article/view/3602mammalsrepellentwam porocol®wildlife-vehicle accidents (wva) |
| spellingShingle | Linas Balčiauskas Marius Jasiulionis Reducing the Incidence of Mammals on Public Highways Using Chemical Repellent The Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering mammals repellent wam porocol® wildlife-vehicle accidents (wva) |
| title | Reducing the Incidence of Mammals on Public Highways Using Chemical Repellent |
| title_full | Reducing the Incidence of Mammals on Public Highways Using Chemical Repellent |
| title_fullStr | Reducing the Incidence of Mammals on Public Highways Using Chemical Repellent |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reducing the Incidence of Mammals on Public Highways Using Chemical Repellent |
| title_short | Reducing the Incidence of Mammals on Public Highways Using Chemical Repellent |
| title_sort | reducing the incidence of mammals on public highways using chemical repellent |
| topic | mammals repellent wam porocol® wildlife-vehicle accidents (wva) |
| url | https://bjrbe-journals.rtu.lv/article/view/3602 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT linasbalciauskas reducingtheincidenceofmammalsonpublichighwaysusingchemicalrepellent AT mariusjasiulionis reducingtheincidenceofmammalsonpublichighwaysusingchemicalrepellent |