Could Drivers Be Held Liable for Killing Monarchs?

COLLEGE STATION, TX – While many environmentalists are quick to condemn modern agriculture practices for the decline in Monarch butterfly numbers, researchers are finding another culprit – automobiles. As Monarch’s move south through Texas on their annual migration to Central Mexico, millions will die in collisions with vehicles while flying low across Texas highways. Over the past 23 years, butterfly numbers have declined about 82 percent and road mortality can significantly contribute to their dwindling numbers. In previous investigations, Texas A&M researchers first uncovered a large amount of autumn monarch roadkill in West Texas, along Interstate Highway 10 from Junction to Sheffield. They found that road mortality of autumn-migrating monarchs from Oklahoma to Mexico depleted about 2-4 percent of the population that would typically arrive at overwintering sites in Mexico. Researchers are now working to systematically determine the location and extent of monarch roadkill on Texas roadways in hopes of finding mitigation strategies that could be implemented to reduce mortality.