A village is capable of many things, and the size of its population is hardly a downfall. I have come across a village, in the rural south east of England, with a sparse population of only 918 residents. Although small, the village is full of vicious villains that risk eternal damnation due to daylong duck death.
A young student resident of this village said, "Nobody seems to care enough to speak up, formally"
A drive along their countryside roads has a speed limit of 30 miles per hour, however this doesn’t intercept some of the most ambitious drivers who either reside in, or visit this village. The result is as follows: not only are fellow citizens at risk of the hasty drivers, but our darling ducklings suffer dearly.
Ducks here are more densely populated than humans, so it isn’t a surprise that more ducks die here, than in urban towns. On the other hand, this doesn’t reason why many ducks die here every year, and we must take action.
Reading this article alone isn’t satisfactory for doing your part. Bringing awareness to the effects of incompetent drivers however is sufficient.
How many drivers cause the death of our wildlife? Too many. You cannot blame the fact that in rural areas, there are many duck species. You can, however, blame the ignorance of our drivers, and their inability to adapt to rural environments.
Unfortunately, a vast majority get away with hazardous driving – even if a bird is the victim of this misfortune. Several occasions have led me to pass by a bird dead on these very roads. Furthermore, on several occasions, I have met a bird in a situation (such as a feather caught in a nestle bush) that increases its vulnerability to rapid racers.
The worst thing of all, is that some drivers act no differently when formula one racing, than when driving on country lanes; thus tragedies are created. Moreover, punishments rarely prevent the reoccurrence of speeding. So, the cycle continues. In some cases, the punishment isn’t even carried out at all, so where is the deterrence?
If we’re ever to combat these tragedies, we need more than just a voice. We need enforcement. We need change. And with change, comes opportunity. Opportunity to save our darling ducklings!
