Sobering roadkill trials
Published: 10/05/2008
In an attempt to cut the number of devils lost to roadkill, warning 
signs for motorists to drive 45km/h from dusk to dawn have been placed on Southern Tasmania’s Forestier Peninsula, between Dunalley and Eaglehawk neck.
In 2006, roadkill claimed one quarter of all the Tasmanian devils known that died in this area. It’s a distressing statistic for any region, but particularly since the Peninsula is the site of the disease suppression trials run by the Program.
In November 2007 the Program released eight hand-reared orphan devils tagged with radio collars. These orphans were the pouch young of diseased mothers and were hand-raised by volunteer carers. Within four months of their release, three of the orphans were roadkilled. Two more had disappeared (presumed dead), and only three have survived to this date.
The Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources produced the signs, placing them along the Arthur Highway in January, 2008.
As at May 2008, a second controlled trial on the peninsula began, using hand-reared orphans that were collected in 2007. Part of this trial included a daily road kill run. The results were shocking - 13 ‘known’ Tasmanian devils had been roadkilled in an 18 km stretch of road within the first four months of 2008!
The message to drivers is: driving according to the conditions in Tasmania includes taking wildlife into account.
