In 2024, wild boar and roe deer were involved in 26,705 crashes on Spain’s interurban roads, information from figures from the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT). Together, they accounted for almost three out of every four animal-related crashes, far outnumbering incidents involving domestic animals such as dogs and cats.
The DGT report, compiled by the National Road Safety Observatory, recorded 36,087 animal-involved crashes in 2024, a 3% increase over the previous year. The figures cover interurban roads but exclude Catalonia and the Basque Country, so they do not provide a complete total for Spain. Of the recorded incidents, 549 resulted in casualties: eight people died and 58 required hospital treatment.
Wildlife at the Center of the Problem
Wild boar were involved in 15,049 crashes, 42% of the total, up 4% from the previous year. Roe deer followed with 11,656 crashes, or 32%, a 6% year-on-year increase. Together, the two species were involved in an average of one crash about every 20 minutes on roads covered by the data.
Dogs were involved in 3,058 crashes, while other deer accounted for 1,954. Overall, wild animals were implicated in 31,421 incidents, or 87% of animal-related crashes. Domestic animals were involved in just under 4,000 cases, with dogs the most commonly recorded. The data also show that the problem extends beyond mammals: 339 crashes involved birds in 2024.
Risks Highest on Conventional Roads
The vast majority of animal-related crashes, 31,673 or 88%, occurred on conventional interurban roads, rather than high-capacity roads or motorways. These routes often cross rural areas with woodland or farmland, where animal crossings are more frequent and the risk of collisions rises.
Nearly all incidents involved vehicles striking animals directly: 35,487 cases, or 98% of the total, were classified as animal collisions. Passenger cars were involved most often, appearing in 31,560 crashes, far more frequently than vans and trucks.
Crashes also followed clear patterns over time. Sundays saw the highest number, at 5,632, while the hour between 22:00 and 22:59 recorded the most incidents, at 4,277. November and December were the peak months, with 3,855 and 3,848 crashes, respectively.
Regional Hotspots and Black Spots
Castilla y León led the regions with 12,292 animal-related crashes, 34% of the reported total. Galicia recorded 5,723, while Aragón had 3,328. At provincial level, Burgos had the highest count, with 2,350 incidents, ahead of León, with 2,179.
The DGT ranking also identifies specific high-risk road sections. The most accident-prone one-kilometre stretch in the 2024 classification was on the OU-525 in Ourense, between kilometre points 226.9 and 227.9, with 15 crashes. Three sections in Ourense ranked among the 20 most dangerous. Over five kilometres, the CM-2011 in Guadalajara, between kilometre points 5.9 and 10.9, recorded 38 incidents. Like the wider dataset, the ranking excludes Catalonia and the Basque Country.
Regional figures underline the continuing exposure in Galicia. The region recorded 4,080 animal-related crashes in 2025, while Ourense accounted for 1,218 crashes involving wild boar. In Navarra, 1,005 animal crashes were recorded on interurban roads in 2024, with wild boar and roe deer together responsible for 71.44%. These regional figures use different geographic scopes and are best read as indicators of local patterns, not added directly to the DGT total.
Efforts to Reduce Animal Collisions
The DGT has released a guide to reduce animal-related crashes. It also plans to integrate real-time alerts about high-risk stretches into its DGT 3.0 navigation system, warning drivers as they approach areas where wildlife crossings are frequent.
Galicia has also adopted a wildlife-management response. For the first time, the regional government, the Xunta, declared a temporary hunting emergency across the whole region. Its stated aim is to address damage and traffic crashes through coordinated management of wild boar. The measure followed the high number of animal-related incidents recorded across Galicia in 2025.
As wildlife populations and road networks increasingly overlap, preventing animal collisions remains a road-safety challenge, particularly on rural routes. The DGT figures show concentrated risks on specific corridors alongside a broad national pattern, strengthening the case for targeted measures and timely driver warnings.
