New Brunswick has always been known as a province rich in forests, rivers, wetlands, and wildlife. Our province is home to moose, deer, black bears, birds, and countless other species that make our natural environment special. But with that comes a responsibility — a responsibility to protect both our wildlife and the people who share these roads and communities with them.
The recent highway crash near Saint John has once again brought attention to a serious issue that New Brunswick can no longer ignore: wildlife crossings and the lack of adequate wildlife protection infrastructure. Reports indicate that a fatal collision on Route 7 occurred after a driver swerved to avoid a moose, with the crash happening on a section of highway without wildlife fencing.
This was not simply an accident involving a vehicle and an animal. It was a warning sign.
New Brunswick needs to ask a serious question: how many more people have to be injured or killed before wildlife safety becomes a real priority?
Wildlife fencing, crossing structures, and proper habitat planning are not luxuries. They are proven tools that can save lives. These measures protect drivers from dangerous animal collisions while also protecting wildlife from being killed on our highways.
The issue goes beyond one highway.
Across New Brunswick, wildlife habitat continues to be affected by expanding roads, development, and changes to natural areas. Animals are forced to cross highways that cut through traditional travel routes. When safe crossings are not provided, the result is often tragedy — for both humans and animals.
The provincial government needs to take stronger action by:
- Expanding wildlife fencing along high-risk highways.
- Building more wildlife crossings where animal movement is common.
- Repairing damaged fencing quickly instead of waiting until after collisions happen.
- Using wildlife data to identify dangerous areas before tragedies occur.
- Making wildlife protection part of transportation planning.
- Working with conservation groups, Indigenous communities, and wildlife experts.
New Brunswick often talks about being a province that values nature. But protecting nature requires more than words. It requires action, planning, and investment.
Our forests and wildlife are part of who we are as New Brunswickers. A moose crossing a highway is not a surprise — it is a natural event that happens in a province built around forests. The responsibility falls on us to make sure our roads are designed with that reality in mind.
We have the knowledge. We have the technology. What is needed is the commitment.
Protecting wildlife is not only about animals. It is about protecting families driving home. It is about preventing avoidable tragedies. It is about respecting the land and the creatures that have shared it with us for generations.
The New Brunswick government must make wildlife safety a priority before another family pays the price.
Keith Dennis Brewer
Nature and Wildlife Advocate
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