Civil Society Organizations are demanding a vote from the Senate on the proposal to reduce the number of people running over wild animals on Brazilian highways. The initiative includes World Animal Protection and 40 other organizations for the cause.
The Organizations that are working on the initiative aim for the project to advance in the Senate committees and maintain the consistency it had in the past, making it a historic process in the country’s animal agenda.
A CNN Brazil had first-hand access to the manifesto.
PL (Bill) 2550/2026 combines the preservation of biodiversity, road and human safety, establishing concrete measures to prevent animal collisions by creating the National Road Safety Plan for the National Registry of Accidents with Wild Animals.
Data on pedestrian accidents;
- More than 15 animals die every second on Brazilian roads.
- Between 2013 and 2024, around 700 tapirs were run over in Mato Grosso do Sul.
- These pedestrian accidents were associated with the deaths of 48 people in the state.
- The PRF recorded more than 16,000 animal collisions between 2019 and 2025.
- The accidents resulted in more than 800 human deaths in the same period.
- In São Paulo, the social costs of these accidents exceeded R$56.5 million between 2003 and 2013.
- Monitoring on BR-101 North showed a 20% to 27% reduction in pedestrian collisions after the installation of wildlife crossings.
Among the measures foreseen in the project are the creation of a mapping of critical areas and the implementation of solutions such as wildlife crossings, fences, appropriate signage and other mitigation measures on highways and railways.
The coordinator of the World Animal Protection Wildlife Campaign, Julia Trevisan, points out that: “Today, more than 15 animals die every second on Brazilian roads and this tragic fact can be avoided. Fauna crossings, for example, are effective and where they have already been installed they reduce road kills by up to 27%.”
Trevisan also explains that the approval of the PL has positive impacts, “A safe road for animals is also one”, she adds. She and the organizations hope that the mobilization of society will contribute to demonstrating the relevance and urgency of the issue.
The scenario that took 11 years to be approved in the Chamber now draws attention due to the articulations around it. The manifesto, organized by civil society organizations, has signatures from several researchers and institutions that defend the approval of the proposal.
The manifesto
The organizations organized a manifesto for the cause, Fauna Asks for Passage: for a Brazil that Protects Lives on the Roads.
One of them, raised by Incab-IPÊ (National Initiative for the Conservation of Tapirs) between 2013 and 2014 point out that around 700 tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) were run over and the death of 48 people, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul alone.
Furthermore, the Federal Highway Police points out that, between 2019 and 2025, there were more than 16 thousand animal collisions, with more than 800 human deaths.
The World Animal Protection Manifesto states that the project could reduce accidents. “We, experts, civil society organizations, teaching and research institutions and professional entities, declare our support for the approval of PL 466/2015, as we understand that it is an essential instrument to save human and animal lives, reduce risks on Brazilian roads and reinforce the country’s commitment to the protection of biodiversity and the socio-environmental responsibility of road concessions”, the NGO’s position.
*Under the supervision of Thiago Félix
