Help Prevent Kangaroo Collisions in the Hawkesbury
Fewer collisions. Safer roads. Protected wildlife.
Recent Donors:
Each year 9 million kangaroos are killed on Australian roads.
Donate now to fund our virtual fencing trial:
Each dollar helps reduce collisions, protect kangaroos, support wildlife carers and keep Hawkesbury drivers safe.
The Hawkesbury is home to a mob of Eastern Grey Kangaroos, in high population and traffic areas there are frequent collisions with motor vehicles.
During the busy winter period it’s common to have up to 9 collisions in just one week on The Driftway, Castlereagh Rd and Londonderry Rd in Richmond.
Each accident impacts more than wildlife, they cause significant physical, emotional and financial harm to motorists, wildlife carers, police and veterinarians.
We now have the chance to prevent these collisions before they happen.
Virtual fencing is a roadside alert system that activates when vehicle headlights are detected.
It emits sound and flashing lights to deter kangaroos from entering the road, keeping both animals and drivers safe. Already trialled successfully in 50 areas around Australia (but only 3 in NSW), this will be the first installation in a metropolitan area of NSW.
Our goal is to install the DD430 wildlife warning system from Wildlife Safety Solutions along The Driftway, a notorious hotspot for collisions.
At a cost of $300 per unit, we need to fundraise $9000 to trial the system across a 750 metre section of The Driftway.
If successful, we hope to expand the project to other affected areas in the region.
If you donate the cost of a fencepost ($300) you can have your name placed on a tag attached to one of the posts, if you wish. It’s our way of saying thanks and recognising your generosity!
Donate Now
Donations over $2 are tax deductible
FAQ:
A. Kangaroo behavior is quite predictable. They have a territory where they sleep in sheltered areas of bushland and grasslands where they feed. They are most active moving between their feeding and sleeping areas at dawn and dusk. They have set paths that they travel on, and these paths are the sites of known collision hotspots. How traffic is managed in these hotspots can significantly reduce collisions. Virtual fencing is one aspect of risk management and focuses on alerting the kangaroos to approaching vehicles. Other measures include changing speed limits, signage, vegetation management to increase visibility, lighting and raising awareness of where collisions hotspots are.
A. Yes, Council unanimously passed a motion at the July 2023 Council meeting to generate a report around ways to mitigate kangaroo collisions. Council voted to receive the report in October to install kangaroo warning signs, to install painted road markings on the Driftway, work with WIRES to publicise and look into install electronic warning signs. The report also recommended that Council allow the installment of virtual fencing on the basis that external funding for the project was acquired.
Hawkesbury Environment Network has received two letters from Council (February 15 and September 9 2024) confirming the arrangement that HEN can install virtual fencing on The Driftway, so long as we can fund the project and be responsible for ongoing maintenance.
A. Virtual fencing works at dawn, dusk and at night and many communities around the country have found the technology to be very effective. HEN hosted a webinar on virtual fencing that reflects the experiences of the technology in Eurobodalla Shire Council on the NSW Coast and around Anglesea in Victoria. Check out the webinar here:
A. No, it’s only activated when a vehicle approaches by the vehicle’s headlights. It emits noise and flashing lights to alert any kangaroos of the approaching vehicle. Kangaroo’s natural movements are not disturbed when the device isn’t activated.
A. Many communities that have installed virtual fencing have also reported various degrees of success protecting other species. Some have had to modify the height of the post to lower the sound and light signals for different target species to increase success rates.
A. Please email us at info@hen.org.au
A. Kangaroo collision hotspots are often in areas where there is bushland on one side of the road and grassland on the other. In those habitats slow down around dawn and dusk. If possible find out the collision hotspots in your area. If you do hit a kangaroo or a wallaby call WIRES on 1300 094 737.