Since you didn’t answer (what a surprise) I’ll ask it slightly differently. Would you alter the course of your vehicle to avoid an animal if it meant you would hit a person?
There are usually more choices than that. In my day, we were trained to "split the difference" when driving. You time your approach so that oncoming hazards (cars) are not near you when you pass a hazard. You slow down or speed up to stay back or go all the way past the hazard before other traffic is near it.
I once watched a driver deliberately hit (and yet not kill, just make suffer horribly) two animals on purpose. One was a parent, and the other animal was its young child. I wasn't able to do much for the animals, as I was very sick myself, but I called a wildlife rescue group & I think they did go help. So, to answer your question, I would like to swerve to avoid hitting an animal if it meant I could hit the driver that did that.
When an animal is killed or made to suffer a long time on or near the road, its young springtime offspring lose their role model and their source of safety and food. Which makes them more likely to get hit by a car, too. A lot of people don't realize animals actually do have families. When you see one trying to cross the street, remember, its offspring could be coming up to the road to cross a few moments behind it, so everybody slow down even if the first one has passed.
I don't really know. In over 50 years, this has never come up. If there's time to swerve to avoid an animal, then there is time to make other decisions, too, like honking, braking, speeding up, to avoid a second hazard. There shouldn't be a person in the road anyhow, except at intersections. I try to never speed, because any mistakes you make then are on you. But, if you are going below the limit, then all you can do is all you can do.
If the animal was something really small, like a chipmunk or bird, or maybe a chicken/rooster, I'd probably hit it as the least of two evils, since the vortex of just driving by might knock it out anyway. Maybe the same with a small rodent. If it was a male turkey, I'd probably hit it. If it was a turkey hen or large racoon, I don't know, I suppose I'd hit it, unless the person was someone I detested. If it was a dog or a cat, I might instinctually try to swerve. Especially if it was a large dog. If it was an elk, or livestock, I would try to avoid it to save my own life. If some animal was already injured on the road but wanting to live, and looking like it could, then I might instinctually try to swerve. Generally speaking, I wouldn't want to hit a person and since the law values people more than animals, I would keep that in mind.
But if you drive like I was trained in the 80s, scanning the road left to right, looking way ahead while also paying immediate attention, going below the speed limit with enough space on all sides of the car at all times, you should be able to avoid having to make split-second decisions. Speeding, alcohol, distraction, anger, and road rage are what usually end up causing regret.
