Road Casualties

It might seem a gruesome subject, but valuable information can be gained from those sad corpses we see every day at the side of the road. Many creatures are so elusive that the only time we get to see them is when they are hit by vehicles. For example, the recolonisation of Wiltshire by polecats has been mainly monitored by collecting corpses and analysing their DNA.

Although we understand that most people don’t want to stop and scrape up remains from the side of the road we would be very grateful for any records of road kill, particularly badgers, you may notice in your daily travels around Wiltshire.

All we need to know is:
* The species seen.
* The date you saw it.
* Location of sighting – a grid reference is ideal but the road and approximate location is still useful.
* Your name.

So how about keeping a notebook or the attached form in your car, and, instead of just feeling sad that yet another creature has lost its life to the motor car, make a note of it and at least some valuable information will have been gained from the poor animals demise.

You can submit your records via our on-line recording form, or download a recording form to keep with you, and then either email, post or fax in to us with your records.