International Culture Check

[mutepointe]

Do you folks have roadkill in your countries? Are you permitted to eat it? What kind of roadkill do you get?

I myself have never hit or been hit by a deer but I have been in the car behind someone what did.

[Feadoggie]

Do you folks have roadkill in your countries? Are you permitted to eat it? What kind of roadkill do you get?

Not exactly International being just over here in Pennsylvania, so yeah, roadkill is a known subject.

My wife had a cousin that passed on recently. He worked for the county road department for 40 years. Part of his job was to scrape up and remove roadkill. His dad did the same job before him. There was always meat in their freezer. Like most jurisdictions these days, when he retired no one replaced him. 'Lotta hides along the roads these days. It's illegal here to take game from the roadside or so I am told.

I myself have never hit or been hit by a deer but I have been in the car behind someone what did.

I've taken out four over the years, about one every ten years. I'm due for another. Just missed one with the scooter last week. That could have been ugly. They're darting out of the cornfields and across the roads around dusk this time of year.

Feadoggie

[kokopelli]

In my part of the country (world) we mostly have smaller critters getting hit by cars. Deer aren't too common around here. It's mostly skunks, which are just as bad dead as they are alive. We also get a lot of rabbits and coyotes. Raccoons are less common but I see a few each year. I don't know if we're allowed to eat it but I don't know why anyone would want to eat any of the things I see except the rabbits. And most of them get flattened so bad there's not much left that could be considered edible.

[Innocent Bystander]

"Permitted"?

Where there are cars, there is roadkill. In the UK, mostly, you will see smidgeons. Once they were pigeons, but now they are feathered streaks of pink and grey. Time was, you would see hedgehogs, but their strategy has evolved so that curling into a ball is the second thing they do, now. First they run, and survive. Squirrels, occasionally a fox, and now and then a badger. Cats and dogs, but they tend to be removed by people who think they know the owners.

The kind of roadkill you might consider eating (or I might, if I wasn't veggie) would be pheasant. Where roads are concerned, these are stupid birds, and tend to run away where they would be better to try and fly. They are big enough to stay in one piece if they've been hit by anything smaller than a Chelsea Tractor.

A colleague who used to be a hunt saboteur had a rant about people eating roadkill pheasants and she suffered for it. Her workmates played on her without remorse, taking the idea to unfeasible levels. She could not see it, and I had to explain to her that they were joking, and probably never even considered eating roadkill.

The one instance I do know of, in this country, was with Kate and Corwen, who came upon a recently stricken deer. They called the RSPCA, who examined the animal and explained there was nothing to be done. They asked if they could claim the body and got permission to do so. They then butchered the animal and presented it at one of the Bear Feasts. It was venison stew. This was not done lightly, but with respect and consideration for the animal. One of the aspects of the Bear Feast is to give thanks and thought to the creatures who, through the year, have lost their lives to provide us with food. As Corwen points out, vegetarians are nor immune: there will always be a mouse in the threshing machine.

I've no idea what the legal position is on this. My scavenging tends to be boletus mushrooms and wood-sorrel and the like.

[Hotblack]

The understanding around here (rural Oxfordshire) is that if you hit and kill a pheasant/deer/partridge etc and you take it, it's poaching. If someone comes along subsequently and scoops up said roadkill, that's NOT poaching. It has been known for 'poachers' to go out in two cars, the first to run over the pheasant (an inordinately stupid bird which runs across the road instead of into the hedge as cars approach), and the second to scoop up the carcass.

A friend of mine came across a pheasant lying in the road, stopped to pick it up and put it in the footwell of the passenger seat. Just as he was approaching town it recovered and started flying around the inside of his car, coveing it and him in blood and feathers and almost causing him to crash. He dispatched the pheasant and had it for his supper a day or two later.

I came across this whilst out on my bike the other day. I just had to take the shot. Something to do with the feeling of loss and loneliness on a windswept lonely piece of road.

[Innocent Bystander]

So if you pick up a stunned pheasant and kill it, is that poaching or not? I mean like yer man with the pheasant that woke up in his car.
I'm vague on the subject, but does the concept of ownership extend to the road that the animal died on? My understanding was the Public Highway was public, so a game animal on a highway could not be a possession. It's not as if they would be tagged or branded.

[Hotblack]

So if you pick up a stunned pheasant and kill it, is that poaching or not? I mean like yer man with the pheasant that woke up in his car.

Dunno. Just relating the story I suppose it's not poaching if he thought it was dead.

I'm vague on the subject, but does the concept of ownership extend to the road that the animal died on? My understanding was the Public Highway was public, so a game animal on a highway could not be a possession. It's not as if they would be tagged or branded.

No idea Again, just relating my experience and what I've heard. I've never delved in to it on a legal basis

[mutepointe]

Friday, I saw a solitary wild turkey sitting on a guard rail. They made a comeback around these parts. I've seen much bigger flocks than this on rural highways. I always stop. They don't appear to be all that interested in getting out of the way but I've never seen a turkey roadkill yet.

We don't have skunks around here as far as I can smell but I happen to like the smell of skunk, though I have never had or smelled a direct hit.

[mutepointe]

Not exactly International being just over here in Pennsylvania, so yeah, roadkill is a known subject.

My in-laws are deer hunters and Pennyslvanians. They get all wound up at deer camp about a conspriacy theory that explains the lack of deer in the National Forest, the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources, and the automobile insurance companies. I've never been able to understand what they're talking about but it sure is lively.

[Innocent Bystander]

We don't have skunks around here as far as I can smell but I happen to like the smell of skunk, though I have never had or smelled a direct hit.

You could write a song about it! Oh, wait...

[Innocent Bystander]

Here's a page with a discussion on it, from a UK perspective.
They make a point about bleeding the animal out, otherwise it may not be fit for human consumption.
An individual by the handle "Match" has this to say:

Wild animals aren't classified as 'owned' unless they're specifically being farmed, in which case they need to be on land secured by fencing, so you'd not be likely to hit them.

However, you have a limited sense of 'ownership' to wild animals while they happen to be on your land - thus if you wander onto an estate and kill one, thats theft/poaching, but if it leaves the estate of its own free will and wanders onto a road, then it becomes property of the owner of _that_ land- i.e the roads department.

Legally, you could now be prosecuted for theft by the roads dept, but since they don't generally mind folk tidying the roads for free, they probably never would.

The 'don't take it if you hit it' rule comes about from the explicit offence of 'driving deer' with a motorised vehicle - i.e chasing/killing deer with a motor vehicle is automatically an offence unless express permission has been sought from the land owner.

So, legally you are likely to be ok to take anything you hit (apart from deer due to the driving offence, or protected animals like badgers), if you seek permission from the roads department to take their property away.

However, the one major issue in all of this is that only people holding public liability insurance are allowed to deliberately kill animals on public highways, in case they get it wrong and the injured animal runs under /another/ car and injures the passengers. Thus you're definitely breaking the law if you find an injured deer in the middle of the road, and decide to dispatch it. You /could/ drag it onto private land next to the road and dispatch it there, but then of course you're killing an animal on private land without the owners consent which is poaching!



For the specifics on deer, see:

Deer Act 1991 (England & Wales)

Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 (Scotland)

Humane Dispatch - Deer-Vehicle Collisions (UK Government Guidelines) (No link: 404! once was http://www.dcs.gov.uk/bestpractice/cull ... patch.aspx)

You might like to look at this one. http://www.bestpracticeguides.org.uk/ I'm sure there are not that many people in the UK who would be capable of dressing a deer carcass, as compared to rural America. Actually, I probably know half-a-dozen people who could do it.

[Nanohedron]

We don't have skunks around here as far as I can smell but I happen to like the smell of skunk, though I have never had or smelled a direct hit.

Years ago, one night I was zooming along a back road in my black '73 Grand Prix (those were big as barges back then, only a barge doesn't have a V8, a speedometer that really does go up to 210 mph, and isn't nearly as pimptastic), when just over the crest of a hill what should I see but a skunk's patoot saying howdy bang-on center in the headlights, tail raised, and pointing directly at me. He knew that clueless I was coming, and that as a waddler danger was afoot for him, so he squared off. Now your '73 Grand Prix chassis is pretty low to the ground, so the critter stood no chance and I knew it even better than he; at that point I had no choice, so all I could do was drive. I didn't really smell anything much, so I hoped that the skunk had had a misfire. Turns out though that the car had been so thoroughly skunkbombed that my nose went into overload and I couldn't even really smell it any more: I stopped in a late-night store and soon noticed that people were giving me looks, and I wasn't dressed funny. Fearing the worst, I finally sidled up to someone and asked in a low voice if I smelled of skunk - because I couldn't really tell - and I got a grave nod to the affirmative. I meekly paid for my stuff and got out fast. A onlooker could probably see the vapor trail as I drove by.

[ytliek]

Do you folks have roadkill in your countries? Are you permitted to eat it? What kind of roadkill do you get?

Milford, International... we got it all, and then some. Its a smorgashbord: raccoons, skunks, opossum, fox, coyote, rabbits, and all those little rodents nobody likes, Ratatouille (2007). need I go on? I didn't check for legality, but, I do believe that here in CT if you hit a deer you can claim it or donate it. You got first dibs on it. I'm not admitting to hitting a deer, but, I got a repair bill for $2800 damage on my van fifteen years ago. Something fury got up, shook itself off and pranced away.

Deer, turkey, population explosion and overrun everywhere. They're a "safety" hazzard on the roads here beyond just a nuisance, its dangerous. It used to be with deer they just came out at night, now its 24/7. Turkeys, well I don't mind'em passing through, but, if your property becomes the eve roost, well now, you got sticky stuff all over, piled high and deep. We also got soup kitchens that could benefit, but, its tricky issue, jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

My backyard abuts a saltmarsh that is breeding ground central for everything, and I mean everything. It doesn't help that I put a little birdseed out for the tweeters, however, deer just stand up on hind legs and go for it all. Squirrels, I surrender. The animals just eat it all, flowers, vegetables, weeds, seeds, everything.

Mute, as for skunks, I actually don't mind the smell either, but it has to be at a good distance with just the slightest of whiff, anything closer than a mile is too close. Nano, that was smashing smelly and in a '73 Gran Prix... jeez

We're developing a black bear problem as they are finding the forests diminishing and backyard fiestas more delightful. I haven't sighted one in my backyard, yet, but, regular sightings in nearby towns.

The most interesting critter rumored to be here in the state is the mountain lion. Just saying. No lions here! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/nyreg ... .html?_r=1 or more recently,
http://ctmountainlion.org/ and the best part of the rumor is that, gov may have brought a few in on the downlow to trim the fat... fiesta for the cat. Just saying. Personally, I think they may have hitched a ride on a 18 wheeler or camper while napping in the western sun.

Yes, our culture here loves them animals, just saying. And, as I close, there is a wittle wabbit weeding my wawn, willy wabbit

[Nanohedron]

Just checked up on state roadkill statutes, and as far as I can see, although the article title says "wildlife" the text indicates that Minnesota only has any legal interest in deer: as of 1987 you should refer the accident to MNDoT; DNR no longer wants to do the cleanup, apparently. If as a private citizen you wish to claim salvageable deer remains, you can be issued a six-month permit which allows you to keep it at no charge. I'm guessing that this has to be done before the fact. Apparently whether you were the one who struck it or not has nothing to do with anything; it's pretty hard to run down deer (never mind the sheer happenstance of having the right vehicle and land to try it on), and they usually only run into you unseen from thickets and the like, so the question of poaching doesn't come into it. I'm sure that the excessively robust deer population factors in, too: these days there are so many, they're almost considered pests.

So, I don't have enough to know about struck pheasants, for example. Presumably they and the rest are...ahem...fair game.

I've never eaten any roadkill that I know of. I've accused cooks of serving it, though.

[ytliek]

I didn't want my earlier post to stand without some kinda verification, no/yes, you can't/can claim the roadkill in CT.
I'm confused and will further investigate to get to the skidmarks about this. I think they changed the laws.
http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshi ... he_ri.html
I think the law has been changed
http://www.insure.com/car-insurance/car ... -kill.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadkill_cuisine

you can't even teach a kid how to do it
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011 ... 061990.txt

I guess its, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxEypaI1LjE

jeez Nano, I didn't think to drive off the pavement onto property to do it, that's where I draw the line though, the shoulder