As urban and suburban boundaries expand and destroy habitat, more and more animals are killed by motorists. There is a special anguish to this form of death because it is not a traditional predator that kills the animal. In my part of the world the chief victims are slow-moving animals like opossums and armadillos, occasionally birds, but of course butterflies and dragonflies don’t stand a chance either. Most people grimace at the thought of their dog, cat, or horse struck by a vehicle, lying alone, paralyzed by pain and fear, in a strange and helpless situation. But we must think of all animals in the same way.
I once read a piece wherein the writer, who had struck a deer on a country roadside while driving at night, tried to reassure himself that it was a quick blow, but wondered guiltily if he should have stopped, turned back, and, well, killed the animal, so far beyond recovery and wracked by pain and anguish. The writer was a Buddhist and wondered what the compassionate thing to do should have been. Or will be. Ah, if we had no cars, no fast-moving vehicles …