# how much roadkill is really accidental? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 28, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-roadkill-is-really-accidental/738783 "2015-11-28T00:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-roadkill-is-really-accidental/738783/41 "2015-11-30T06:42:26Z")
You’re not kidding. We’re so over run with them here in PA that Allegheny county is organizing deer culls. (A lot of animal lovers are fighting it, but the things are goddamned nuisances. I hate deer) ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-roadkill-is-really-accidental/738783/42 "2015-11-30T07:48:07Z")
I’ve accidently run over a cat once - hit the brakes but when I started to lose control thought the cat was a better option than me. I’ve had a friend that (claimed) to have run over a sheep while on a motorbike (he was speeding something chronic) Neither were “on purpose” In NZ it is rather common to deliberately run over possums and rabbits deliberately at night night. Possums will often “freeze” making them a relatively easy target - while a rabbit running away from you down a country road can be aimed for. Both are pests. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-roadkill-is-really-accidental/738783/43 "2015-11-30T08:30:29Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Out of curiosity, in what general area do you live in? White-tailed deer have infested the Northeast to the point where it is common for them to be a nuisance even in suburban and urban areas. They are also everywhere in the South and especially the upper Mid-West. The Western states like Colorado and California have a serious Mule deer problem. Southern California; Inland Empire. It’s a desert area and I see a lot of jackrabbits but I’ve never seen a deer. I imagine there’s more in NorCal. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-roadkill-is-really-accidental/738783/44 "2015-11-30T14:05:40Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > … The Western states like Colorado and California have a serious Mule deer problem. We have to fight them off with a slingshot at my aunt’s home right in the middle of Colorado Springs because they march right in like they own the place… Deer are shy of carnivores. If you stare at them and think carnivorous thoughts, they will usually go away, at least while you are there. I tell them, “I want to eat you” when they collect in my backyard and that always disperses them. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-roadkill-is-really-accidental/738783/45 "2015-11-30T16:14:20Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Wait, there are people who actually try to purposely hit _deer_? Despite the danger involved? It’s a way to get free venison. Up in Maine, for example, if the authorities can’t prove the deer was deliberately hit, first dibs goes to the driver who hit it. Otherwise, some needy family gets it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-roadkill-is-really-accidental/738783.md?page=2)