Residents of Brooms Head say, "Enough is enough" in a letter to the editor of
The Daily Examiner.
Road kill appalling
Plenty of well-meaning
people work hard to address the impact of Brooms Head Road traffic on our
wildlife. National Parks keep count of emu numbers; WIRES repairs
victims; some attach tracking devices; and, occasionally, The Daily Examiner reminds
us how warm and fuzzy are emu chicks. But none of this reduces the
appalling road kill.
Eighteen months ago my wife
and I concluded a series of letters to The Daily Examiner and The Coastal Views about the
level of the road kill on the 20km stretch between Brooms Head and
Maclean, but the killing continues.
I recently
presented photos of wildlife killings on that road to The Daily Examiner: roos,
wallabies, wallaroos, possums, echidnas, various reptiles and a wide
variety of birds. The reporter wasn't interested except to
wonder why I cared.
I said that if I were hit, it
would hurt me as much as if I were an emu or goanna. I asked if, in the
scheme of things, an emu has a less-important right to seek a pain-free
life than I do; that while I use its natural land, should deadly
confrontation be inevitable; that while I possibly think quicker than
the emu, does it give me a greater right to destroy it - or am I
ethically obliged to care for the less able? Should my code of behaviour
be based on the levels of difference between the surrounding wildlife
and me and, if so, how should it be expressed caringly or non-caringly?
If conflict between "unequal" species is okay, what about between
members of our species? Should we excuse killing one another on roads.
If not, why not?
While it seemed my reporter
preferred to pursue the warm and fuzzy approach, bosses/authorities who
don't make decisions can have devastating effect. Reducing this
20km trip to mostly 80km/h all the way certainly increases the time by
three minutes but allows that bit extra for sharper navigation and
avoidance on a road where highway speed (and often more) simply invites
collision. The administrative inaction shows poor duty of care.
It's a little similar to the carelessness surrounding that
thoughtless message recently allowed through to nurse Saldanah in
London.
K.Giese
Brooms Head
Source: Letters, The Daily Examiner, 21/12/12
