Roadkill Salvaging

Joined
Nov 19, 2015
Messages
1
Hi,

Is anyone here a consistent roadkill salvager? I'm looking for help on a story I'm writing and would like to speak with avid salvagers about what it's like/how they utilize the corpses, etc.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you,
Shane
 
Um....what?
Nothing to do with knives, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one here who can answer you.
My dad and I have picked up raccoons a couple times. We're trappers so we skinned it for its pelt.
Obviously it wasn't trashed.

Oh, and just letting you know, this is either going to be moved or locked.

Welcome to the forums though, but this is for knife discussion, not roadkill and dead animals.
 
Non-roadkill scavenging related content. Apologies.
 
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Corpse- human, carcass -animal. If I lived in whitetail areas in USA, I think wouldn't need a gun to stay in venison, just a pickup with bullbars & a knife.
 
Non-roadkill scavenging related content. Apologies.
 
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And be careful driving around the USA with all those un-tagged deer you run down with your truck. Poaching isn't loved by hunters here.

Says the horn hunter to the dinner harvester..

Saaoo, yunz's gonna have uh prawblum with you'z durrs runnin out ta in frunna my truck? Git in line, boah. Y'ont skur me nun. Fixin tuh catcha chip-e-waaw tuh yer chin.
 
Non-roadkill scavenging related content. Apologies.
 
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Moved to Wilderness & Survival. This is not Whine & Cheese. If you can't answer seriously, please keep out.
 
Unless I saw the animal fresh hit (actually saw the hit) I don't think I would ever consider a roadkill animal safe to consume. I've seen a lot of roadkill.

Another issue is I have no idea what the laws are for possession of wildlife taken outside the relm of legally bagged and tagged game.

Unlawful possession of game can be charged.
 
Near where I grew up there was an old guy who had road kill figured out . Remember that this is a ranching area with low population density. This character would see a rabbit or a grouse on the road and would slow down, open up his door on his pickup and grab the roadkill. One day he got a good hold of a rabbit that was frozen to the road and he fell right out of his truck because he wouldn't let go of the rabbit.
 
In many states you need a licence to harvest roadkill deer.
https://www.google.co.nz/webhp?sour...q=roadkill+whitetail+deer+harvesting+legality
In NZ all wild mammals,except bats, are legally regarded as introduced pests. Permanent hunting season, no hunting licence except for ducks.
Interesting court case if you run over a stray sheep on road & put it in your trunk. Farmer's fault for not fencing his property properly? Assuming you get caught.
I once hitched a lift from an even more feral hippie than myself. Aussie brush tailed possum caught in headlights, "clunk clunk" as its head hit the axles.
Driver "Shall we go back & pick it up? I can cook it for my dinner."
Me "Nah mate,just keep driving".
Years later Bears Gryll said they taste like rat.
 
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Some friends and I hit a goat quite a few years ago on our way to a cabin. We got with the owner who seemed pretty apathetic about the whole thing even though we offered to pay. So we loaded it into the back of a camp trailer. Soaked some rope in salt water, dug a trench and started a fire next to it. When we had coalw we shoveled them into the hole, strung the goat up and slow barbequed it. Personally I would agree with not eating anything I have seen hit.
 
There is skill involved ! A good man with a pickup can take a deer with no damage to the truck and little to the deer ! I've had friends who witnessed a hit and immediately brought the deer to my nearby house.
That's the trick. A fresh kill, quickly processed.
It used to be a road kill was quickly used .You took it or gave it to someone nearby , or brought it to a needy family. Sadly today the gov't mentality ruins things.Apply for a form [drive to the game office often more than a short trip], you'll get the permit in two or three days. By then of course the eagles, bears etc will have had their fill. Terrible !
 
Yes. Given the opportunity and time I will harvest usable meat from a fresh large road kill. Every state has different laws regarding it. Many say take it and call it in to the wardens. Shame to let good meat go to waste. Large ungulids especially. It takes only a few seconds to strip out the backstraps from a deer. A bit longer for an angus bull or moose.
 
There is a deer roadkill list for my home town. The police give you a call when someone hits one and you can pick it up and butcher for the fresh and free meat.

One of my college professors used to collect smaller roadkill or random dead animals for the skeletons if damage was minimal.
He'd remove as much of the flesh and organs as possible without damaging the skeleton, then place the remains in an open Tupperware container. The containers went into a closet that was filled with tiny flesh eating beatles which would clean the skeletons completely in a matter of months.
Smelled about as bad as you'd imagine but the results were fantastic.
 
A friend of mine saw a dead raccoon, in good shape, decided to take it home to mount as a trophy. A few minutes later the "Dead" raccoon woke up and took exception to being taken for a ride. John
 
Here in ontario all you do is contact the MNR (ministry of natural resources) and they will 99% of the time give you a waiver to keep it (unless they suspect unlawful activity or it is an animal needed for study)
it's common practice here. once you skin it, you'll know what's good and what isn't in a hurry.
 
Here you contact the local PD and they will give you a road kill permit so you can take it and have it processed or keep it. I saw a doe get head hit and stopped. That was the easiest cleaning deer I've ever put a knife to. No blood except what came out her nose. I'll stop and get hind quarters sometimes if its still warm. Plus what Codger said about the back straps. If I'm not sure about it, I freeze fist size chunks and feed it to the dogs.--KV
 
In northern Minnesota, road kill gets picked up by people with bunches of hungry sled dogs to feed.
 
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