Editor;
My fellow Newfoundlanders.
Did you know if you drive on the highways of Newfoundland at night you have a 50-50 chance of hitting a moose?
Think about it, 100,000-150,000 moose in the province. It gets dark at 5:30 p.m. and the roads are black, with moose crossing back and forth on our highways night and day.
That is not good odds!
Picture this: you come upon a moose accident. The roof of the vehicle is peeled back like a sardine can. There is glass and blood everywhere, people are trapped in the vehicle and screaming. No ambulance or police are on the scene yet.
Well, I have experienced this and it is not a very nice thing to witness.
There are two moose-vehicle accidents in Newfoundland every day - this is a fact.
I have a solution to the moose-vehicle accidents on our highways. Much research has gone into this.
Oct. 11, 2009, the fish plant in Port Union closed, sending 200 people out of work.
In Alberta, they farm buffalo. Why not turn the fish plant in Port Union, Burgeo or Harbour Breton into a moose meat packing plant?
We could take what is needed from the herd to get one or more plants started. Then, set up farms around the island to supply the plants. The meat can be transported in freezer trucks.
Add caribou from the Melee Mountain herd, where there are millions of animals. These can be brought down in freezer trawlers. We have lots of these tied up all around the island.
What do we have here? We have a solution to moose-vehicle accidents are we are putting people back to work.
In previous letters I spoke about government's responsibility to ensure the highways are safe to travel on and they are not. If me or one of my family hits a moose, I know my rights - do you?
The evenings are closing sooner, as I said before.
Reduce your speed to 90 kilometres per hour, wear night driving glasses, clean your windshield and lights, put higher wattage lights on your vehicle and coat your windshield with a substance such as RainX.
Drive safely and remember - the life you save could be your own.
One voice is not enough; call open line, write letters to the editor, etc.
Tony Simon,
Grand Falls-Windsor
