Skip to content

Roadkill counts rising on Vancouver Island

ICBC recorded 2,200 animal-related crashes on Vancouver Island in 2017
14124157_web1_dead-deer
This picture from Mainroad Group shows the remains of a deer on the Trans-Canada Highway about to be picked up on Highway 1 in Greater Victoria. (Black Press file photo)

Crashes involving animals on Vancouver Island are trending up.

ICBC recorded 2,200 animal-related crashes on the Island in 2017 — up from 1,800 in 2013, for a five-year average of 2,100. Correspondingly, the number of injured (human) victims rose from 90 in 2013 to 160 in 2017, for a five-year average of 140.

Looking at the rest of the province, Vancouver Island recorded 1,000 more crashes involving animals than the Lower Mainland in 2017 (1,200). Leading all regions was the Southern Interior with 4,800 crashes in 2017, responsible for 300 injuries.

Looking at the province as a whole, ICBC recorded 11,000 crashes in 2017 with 740 injuries with a five-year average of 11,000 crashes and 650 injuries. Crashes involving animals also caused nine fatalities between 2013 and 2016, with none in 2017.

RELATED: Scientists trying to save B.C.’s western rattlesnakes from becoming roadkill

Crashes include those with both domestic and wild animals, but the available ICBC statistics do no further distinguish between the two categories.

The ICBC statistics also fail to the capture the wider category of roadkill, as vehicle driver may kill domestic or wild animals without filing a claim with ICBC that meets its definition of a crash. They may know that they hit something but nonetheless continue on their way because of the animals’ size. Alternatively, some drivers have hit large animals, only to realize much later, that they had done so.

RELATED: Woman drags dead deer home under her car

About 80 per cent of reported wildlife collisions involve large animals such as deer, according to the Wildlife Collision Prevention Program, a partnership between the British Columbia Conservation Foundation (BCCF) and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), in response to the increasing number and severity of wildlife-vehicle collisions in British Columbia.

Overall, experts estimate that millions of animals die annually on roads across North America.

RELATED: Crews contend with wildlife carnage on Greater Victoria highways


Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

wolfgang.depner@saanichnews.com



Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
Read more



Secondary Title