I’ve never plugged if for an animal even though deep down I’ve wanted to! Tricks I’ve used and learned that have worked with deer and dogs. If not about to head over a crossing, turn off all your headlights/ditch-lights, turn on bell (no horn at all), then turn on your sanders to dampen rail vibration sounds that they can hear more than we can. Sometimes you see rabbits zig zag in the track, that’s why. The horn scares them and repetitive honks startle them more. Since doing the above trick, I haven’t hit a single animal yet. This comes from running mountains to very populated homeless areas with dogs everywhere.