IT IS World Animal Road Accident Awareness Day today, October 10.
Cat protection charity CatsMatter says around 630 cats are hit by cars every single day in the UK, with 25 per cent of incidents being fatal.
A spokesman for the charity said: “Although our campaign centres around cats, we appreciate this is an issue affecting all animals.
“In Britain, annual road casualties are estimated to account for 100,000 fox deaths, 50,000 badgers, 50,000 deer, 30 million birds.
“Hedgehogs once topped the death table with 29% of them being killed by cars… that was until they entered on the critically endangered list.
“Based on statistical analysis of those potentially unrecorded, the realistic death rate is estimated to be around 70 million animals.”
The road accident awareness day is now in its third year, and the charity is on a mission to enlighten people – drivers in particular – about the best ways to help if they hit or find a cat on the road.
“They argue it is a driver’s moral duty to stop and attend to their victim, whether it is a pet or not.
“No animal deserves to be hit by a car and left in the road alone, scared, in pain, or worse.
“With human owners who love them as family, people often say to us things such as, ‘owners deserve closure’, ‘someone will be heartbroken’, or ‘I would want someone to help my cat’.
“This is true, and we know the need for closure first-hand, but our primary focus is the animals themselves – including wild animals who don’t have the luxury of being loved by a human. All animals matter and every single one of them deserves a chance at survival should the worst happen.
“All us drivers have a moral obligation to help all living creatures they injure while driving.”
The charity hopes to “co-ordinate a message which will be shared internationally, for all animals”.
The spokesman added: “We can’t stop roads being built or animals wandering on to them, but we can make people acknowledge what has happened and encourage them to help the animal by bringing this issue to the forefront of drivers minds.”