Humor
Road Kill Smorgasbord Now Legal In Idaho
May 14, 2012 
If you have the urge to chow down on bobcat burgers or munch on muskrat, you are in luck!
Idaho Fish and Game reports this week that new road-kill rules passed by the legislature allow motorists to snatch up those prized parts of everything from dead moose to striped skunk and coyote found along Idaho highways.
Pressed duck is illegal, but pheasant pot pie is OK. No migratory birds can be salvaged. They must be left to rot. We note long-tailed weasel is legal, but due to portion size only children and seniors will be interested.
All you need to be legal is a computer or cell phone to apply for the necessary permit within 24 hours. Then you get a permit within 72 hours. Here is how they describe the process in a press release:
“A self-generating permit is available for printing after entering required information, including date, location and species salvaged. A copy of the permit must accompany the salvaged wildlife.”
The GUARDIAN had all sorts of questions about the process. For instance: if you make muskrat and skunk canapé’s do you need to have a permit posted on the table? Is it considered fair to use those big brush guards on the pick-ups that sit six feet off the pavement?
While they advise motorists to not stop on the freeway for a bull moose rack, there is no apparent requirement you have to kill the critters with the family sedan. You can just follow along and “salvage” what others whack and leave behind.
The press release notes:
“In addition to reporting a salvage, the following wildlife must be presented to the nearest Fish and Game office to satisfy mandatory check and reporting requirements: moose, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, mountain lion, black bear, wolf, bobcat and river otter.” Can’t you just see the F-150 pull up to F&G and a guy wearing a John Deere cap gets out and declares, “I am here to present a mountain goat as prescribed by law.”
The new rules also allow people to sell parts–except the meat–from legally salvaged wildlife, not including bighorn sheep. People may also retain and consume the meat of legally salvaged wildlife – but they do so at their own risk.
It appears about anything found dead on the road is… FAIR GAME.
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Comments & Discussion
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May 15, 2012, 6:22 am
all new meaning to “buy Idaho”, maybe change it to “scavenger Idaho”
May 15, 2012, 9:45 am
Related story: sales of push bars and brush guards for trucks has spiked in Idaho…c
May 15, 2012, 12:08 pm
I can only wonder how many people are going to comply with this paper trail. It just seems silly. It all reminds me of the 911 call of years gone bye….”Who gets to keep the deer? Me or the dog”.
May 15, 2012, 12:47 pm
are there any limits on the dreaded Califorino’s? the place is getting over run with them
May 15, 2012, 5:48 pm
It is so nice to hear something positive has been “spawned” from our legislature. 1. It will save money that our highway dept. will not have spend to clean up potential roadkill. 2. It will help defray the cost of meat that Idahoans may have to purchase. 3. Now I wonder if the legislature will make it mandatory that we get permits for redneck picnics. Awww there is a light at the end of the government tunnel.
May 16, 2012, 6:44 am
Is this something symbolic to the current election?? Voting for an Idaho politician is like picking up dead things along side the road. It benefits no one…
May 16, 2012, 1:52 pm
I’m hoping fellow Guardian readers will pass along their favorite family roadkill recipes. I’m particularly interested in squirrel recipes; it’s the roadkill you don’t even have to travel out of town for!
Here comes Sal with a snigger and a grin,
Here comes Sal with a snigger and a grin,
The groundhog gravy all over her chin.
Oh, groundhog!
Ya eat up the meat and save the hide,
Eat up the meat and ya save the hide,
The best durn shoestring that ever was tied.
Oh, groundhog!
(From the Doc Watson folk song “Groundhog”)
May 17, 2012, 11:20 pm
I know that we are a state that does not take care of it’s poor, it’s senior citizens (if they are poor) nor it’s children (if they need help) – so I guess this is just one way to feed them legally. Thanks GOP!! We look forward to eatin’ meat once in a while…. even though we cannot afford the gas to kill our own road kill dinners.
May 18, 2012, 2:55 pm
Hey–a new investment in the offing:
Road Kill Cafe–you kill it, we grill it.