There are no signs, the game suffers

There are almost no "wild game on the road" traffic signs on the main road in the territory of the municipality of Kolasin.

The lack of this type of signaling, according to hunting societies, is often fatal for animals.

This was also the case on Saturday afternoon, when a truck in the town of Sjerogošte injured a young hind, which was put to sleep by veterinarians due to the severity of the injuries.

This year alone, three deer were killed by cars on the section of the highway from Kolašin to Podgorica, the president of the Hunting Association (LD) of Rovac and Morač told "Vijesti" Miličko Bulatović.

"On our main roads, noble game often dies, and most often roe deer. It is necessary for the Road Administration to install appropriate signage. The critical sections of the road in the territory of the municipality of Kolašin are from the entrance to Platije to a place called Badanj and the section of the road from the bridge leading towards Biogradska Gora to Sjerogošt. On that stretch, roe deer and red deer often cross the main road. On the main road from the entrance to Platije to Morača Monastery, deer, chamois and brown bears often cross the main road. This year alone, three cases of doe injuries were reported on that route," claims Bulatović.

According to him, the number of unreported cases of animal deaths on the highway is much higher.

By installing signaling, he says, the number of traffic accidents, as well as the number of killed game animals, would be significantly reduced.

And in LD "Lovac", which manages the other part, they say that it is unacceptable that there are no signs on the main road warning of the possibility of wild animals on the road. The president of that company Radojica Milošević says that he does not remember when there were signs on the section from Kolašin towards Mojkovac, to the border with Biogradska gora National Park, indicating the proximity of a part of the road that is dangerous due to wildlife crossing.

"According to our information, a young hind in Sjerogošte was hit by a truck on Saturday. On that part of the road, despite the proximity of the NP territory, we do not have appropriate signage that would warn drivers. We appeal to the authorities to correct this as soon as possible, in order to protect both noble game and road users," he said.

Experiences from the region confirm that game often dies on the roads, and to prevent this sometimes even traffic signs are not enough. That is why last year, for example, 700 specialized reflectors were planned to be installed on the most critical sections of roads in the Republic of Srpska. These reflectors emit blue light when approaching a vehicle and act as a warning to wild game. They are installed along the edge of the road and, when illuminated by headlights, they create a blue light fence along the road, thus preventing wild animals from crossing the road. The system is allegedly only active when a vehicle approaches and does not have a negative impact on drivers, because the direction of the light beam is opposite to the road...

Such a solution, according to the media, was also applied in Germany, where a 73 percent decrease in traffic accidents involving wild game was recorded.