FOXSYLVANIA

 – – It’s an inherently gruesome topic, but our distaste for roadkill doesn’t eliminate the existence of it, and  it’s a problem that must be dealt with.  In many areas, state highway crews or private contractors are brought in to remove animal carcasses along roadways; in my area, one private contractor is a grandmotherly-looking woman.  For those with sufficiently strong stomachs, roadkill removal is a fairly lucrative business; removal of a single deer carcass can bring $50 or so.

In Illinois, a “roadkill bill” took effect last year that allowed anyone with an Illinois furbearer license to salvage pelts or even food from the unfortunate fauna that lost a fight with steel-belted radials.  The promoter of the bill was a retired state conservation officer who thought it was a waste to allow  animal pelts to rot along the roadside, and saw it as an opportunity for some people to make a little money.

At least 14 states have laws related to roadkill, including those that allow motorists to keep animals that they hit although some laws pertain only to deer or bears… 

(Pictured is a desktop from Roadkill Toys.)