By Susan Bromley
Staff Writer
Groveland Twp.- Mary Drouillard, really doesn’t mind that deer feed on her garden, but when they’re hit by cars on the road in front of her house and left to rot she has a problem.
‘A big deer was hit one day and died right in my front yard,? said Drouillard. ‘Someone stopped and cut the horns off the deer and just left it. I did not want to leave the deer laying there so a neighbor and I buried it right there in my front yard.?
Drouillard has lived between Groveland and Auten roads for the past 35 years and has seen and smelled her share of dead animals, including beavers, dogs, raccoons, squirrels, and opossum. Unpleasant as it is, Drouillard will receive no state or county help with disposal of the animals, as long as they are not in the roadway.
‘We don’t remove it unless it’s in a lane of traffic causing a road hazard,? says Craig Bryson, public information officer for the Road Commission of Oakland County. ‘The reason is the cost, time and manpower it takes to do that.?
The RCOC contracts with a company to pick up deer carcasses that are an obstruction on county roads. The company takes the deer to an approved landfill for disposal. Deer that die on the side of the road are left to decompose and smaller animals such as raccoons and opossums killed in the roadway are moved to the side of the road to ‘allow nature to take its course,? says Bryson.
‘Like everyone lately, we have a very tight budget,? he said. ?(Removal of roadkill) is a recurring conversation among road commissions in the state, but no one has the staff or money? especially in Oakland County where we see a lot of rural areas developing and it flushes out the critters. We are having a lot more car-animal collisions. It’s the natural order of things.?
In 2005, there were 59,000 deer-car accidents in Michigan, the first year since 1994 there were under 60,000, says Brent Rudolph, wildlife research specialist with the Department of Natural Resources. Oakland County had 1,704 reported car-deer accidents and Genesee County had 1,101 reported. The number has been declining statewide for the last two years, but there remains two times per year when a spike is seen in car-deer accidents.
‘The biggest is in the fall,? says Rudolph. ‘The deer ‘Rotting on the roadside,are breeding and they’re not paying attention to where they’re going. The other time is late spring.?
At this time of year, Rudolph notes that young, inexperienced deer are being pushed away by their mothers, who are preparing to have new fawns.
As a wildlife research specialist in the DNR’s wildlife division, a member of the Michigan Deer-Car Crash Coalition, Rudolph helps educate the public about things that contribute to crashes and ways to avoid hitting deer. Unfortunately, he says, it is pretty difficult to avoid.
‘It’s important to remember there are certain times of year that (deer in the road) are more likely,’Rudolph says. ‘At dawn and dusk, be more aware, that is when they’re moving. Deer crossings are posted, but be aware if sight is reduced. Be alert, take your time.?
Rudolph cites accident statistics showing that injuries to vehicle occupants are much less likely to happen if a driver brakes and keeps his hands on the wheel. He instructs drivers to not swerve, they could lose control and are more likely to have an injury or fatality by hitting something else. The same rules apply to other animals in the road.
If a deer is hit, a permit can be obtained by the driver for processing and consumption. Some charitable organizations will also take fresh roadkill.