Eating roadkill legalized in Montana
Potentially good meal shouldn't go to waste, say advocates
By Phyllis M Daugherty, Mon, September 02, 2013
Steve Lavin, a state representative from the city of Kalispell, introduced the legislation to allow anyone who finds the carcasses – or hits the animals with their vehicles – to take them away. Previously they were not allowed to do so.
"If there is some good stuff there, why not use it, rather than throw it away?" said Mr Lavin. "If someone has suffered damage to their vehicle, why not let them use that animal for some food?"
Mr Lavin, who is also a captain with the Montana Highway Patrol, told The New York Times he was inspired to draft the bill after years of responding to accidents in which animals had been struck by cars or trucks.
In 2012, the state of Montana collected 7,406 carcasses from the roads. Montana, the fourth largest state in the USA and an area larger than Japan, is known for its ranches, mountains and wilderness.
"We have some animals whose parts are worth quite a bit: sheep, bobcats and bears," Mr Lavin said. "So I reduced the bill down to deer, elk, moose and antelope. The bill is confined to those four animals for that purpose. Their parts aren't worth what sheep or bear parts are worth."
The original draft of the bill allowed generic “game animals, fur-bearing animals, migratory game birds and upland game birds” to be salvaged, but that raised concerns with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials, who warned that although some animals, such as Bighorn sheep, are frequently killed by vehicles in the Thompson Falls area, and allowing them to be legally salvaged could cause their potentially valuable carcasses to become the focus of profiteering.
Montana Department of Fish,Wildlife and Parks expressed the same concerns about bears, mountain lions and other animals that would be desirable for their heads, claws or furs. Lavin said, “I took out anything that might be a concern to them.”
Lavin, who has been a trooper with the Montana Highway Patrol for more than 20 years, added that usually the highway patrol or other law enforcement agencies are called to respond. In many cases, the animals are seriously wounded and must be put down because of the injuries. It is in those cases that Lavin said he has sometimes been asked if the animal can be salvaged.
Rep. Lavin also said that Highway Patrol now often calls food banks that do take road kill, even though that is a violation of the law, but these organizations often can’t drive the distance to pick up an animal soon enough to salvage it.
Addressing questions as to whether the salvage permit could be abused, Lavin said that is not likely, because law enforcement is acting as a control for when permits should be issued.
“People aren’t going to intentionally hit an elk when it’s going to cost them $1,500 in damages to their vehicle,” Lavin told the Daily Inter Lake, “nor are poachers going to go through the problems of staging a road kill with the possibility of being caught.”
People already take antlers from deer and elk road kill, and permits would simply allow that to become legal if the meat is salvageable, he said.
The measure can also actually be cost saving for the State because the responsibility for eventually picking up road carcasses falls on the Department of Transportation.
Lavin told reporters, “The bill is solely about salvaging game animals for their meat, when it is salvageable. It’s about fresh kills on cooler days” when the meat won’t spoil.”
“Salvaging roadkill makes sense for several reasons. Wild game is some of the healthiest meat there is, and it's a shame to let it rot by the roadside. Eating roadkill could save families a lot of money they would otherwise have spent on meat, which might have something to do with why the beef industry lobbied against the bill, citing food-safety concerns,” the Montana Pioneer writes.
Potentially good meal shouldn't go to waste, say advocates
By Phyllis M Daugherty, Mon, September 02, 2013
Steve Lavin, a state representative from the city of Kalispell, introduced the legislation to allow anyone who finds the carcasses – or hits the animals with their vehicles – to take them away. Previously they were not allowed to do so.
"If there is some good stuff there, why not use it, rather than throw it away?" said Mr Lavin. "If someone has suffered damage to their vehicle, why not let them use that animal for some food?"
Mr Lavin, who is also a captain with the Montana Highway Patrol, told The New York Times he was inspired to draft the bill after years of responding to accidents in which animals had been struck by cars or trucks.
In 2012, the state of Montana collected 7,406 carcasses from the roads. Montana, the fourth largest state in the USA and an area larger than Japan, is known for its ranches, mountains and wilderness.
"We have some animals whose parts are worth quite a bit: sheep, bobcats and bears," Mr Lavin said. "So I reduced the bill down to deer, elk, moose and antelope. The bill is confined to those four animals for that purpose. Their parts aren't worth what sheep or bear parts are worth."
The original draft of the bill allowed generic “game animals, fur-bearing animals, migratory game birds and upland game birds” to be salvaged, but that raised concerns with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials, who warned that although some animals, such as Bighorn sheep, are frequently killed by vehicles in the Thompson Falls area, and allowing them to be legally salvaged could cause their potentially valuable carcasses to become the focus of profiteering.
Montana Department of Fish,Wildlife and Parks expressed the same concerns about bears, mountain lions and other animals that would be desirable for their heads, claws or furs. Lavin said, “I took out anything that might be a concern to them.”
Lavin, who has been a trooper with the Montana Highway Patrol for more than 20 years, added that usually the highway patrol or other law enforcement agencies are called to respond. In many cases, the animals are seriously wounded and must be put down because of the injuries. It is in those cases that Lavin said he has sometimes been asked if the animal can be salvaged.
Rep. Lavin also said that Highway Patrol now often calls food banks that do take road kill, even though that is a violation of the law, but these organizations often can’t drive the distance to pick up an animal soon enough to salvage it.
Addressing questions as to whether the salvage permit could be abused, Lavin said that is not likely, because law enforcement is acting as a control for when permits should be issued.
“People aren’t going to intentionally hit an elk when it’s going to cost them $1,500 in damages to their vehicle,” Lavin told the Daily Inter Lake, “nor are poachers going to go through the problems of staging a road kill with the possibility of being caught.”
People already take antlers from deer and elk road kill, and permits would simply allow that to become legal if the meat is salvageable, he said.
The measure can also actually be cost saving for the State because the responsibility for eventually picking up road carcasses falls on the Department of Transportation.
Lavin told reporters, “The bill is solely about salvaging game animals for their meat, when it is salvageable. It’s about fresh kills on cooler days” when the meat won’t spoil.”
“Salvaging roadkill makes sense for several reasons. Wild game is some of the healthiest meat there is, and it's a shame to let it rot by the roadside. Eating roadkill could save families a lot of money they would otherwise have spent on meat, which might have something to do with why the beef industry lobbied against the bill, citing food-safety concerns,” the Montana Pioneer writes.
