Every day, foodstuffs and wrappers are discarded out of car windows onto and alongside roadways. This poses a very real danger to wildlife. People think nothing of tossing items such as burger buns, fries, and apple cores from their moving vehicles. With human encroachment and loss of habitat at an all time high, many small animals and birds are desperate for food. This discarded waste acts as bait to lure these innocent creatures to their death by a moving vehicle.
Birds often swoop low across the roads. Squirrels become frightened by approaching cars and dart into traffic. At night, even possums and raccoons meet their death trying to scavenge alongside roadways. The purpose of this petition is to draw awareness to the plight of these innocent creatures and to remind everyone that food items near roadways spell death for a hungry animal. Even an empty wrapper that smells like food proves lethal to them.
Please pledge to pack your garbage home and dispose of it in an appropriate waste receptacle. Edible foodstuffs can be fed to wildlife in open clearings or wooded areas, well clear of roads. Even tossing items far from the shoulder of roads can lure animals from the other side to attempt to cross busy streets. Their sense of smell is very keen. Also, if you find discarded food items near roads, and it does not pose a danger to yourself to remove it, please do so. No one should have to die just because they were hungry.
