Hey all you Michigan folks, the wife and i just returned from a trip which seen us traveling I75 to the Sault( ont). We could not believe the amount of dead deer on the side of the highway!!
Is it not legal there to claim road kills or does nobody want it if it's run over??
Just a question we have. Thanks Bill :)
Legal to claim them,not sure why they get left other than they are busted up real bad most of the time. We have close to 70,000 car/deer accidents each year,some are bound to get left. spring is always ugly as the winters build up is heavy.
Chuck
You must get a claim tag from the state DNR if claiming a road kill.
although I now live in Georgia, I lived in Michigan for forty some years. at that time it was legal to keep roadkill provided it was reported. Alot of the people who hit deer are not sportsman and wouldnt know what to do with a deer. Also hitting a deer can do major damage to your vehicle and your person. often salvaging a few pounds of venison is not on their mind.
Having said that i have happily consumed many pounds of roadkill venison which was hit by hit by friends or relatives and on one occasion by myself
I get enough during hunting season. I dont touch road kill unless I want to claim a tail or antlers or something like that. You never know how long it has been there, or what type of internal damage was done to the intestines or stomach. It only takes a snap to ruin venison if the digestion tract leaks.
I have to agree. I do a lot of cycling. In the spring months it is not unusual to see 15 - 20 dead deer on a 25 mile ride. It is illegal to take parts of dead animals when out of season. Such as horns,tails, feathers and fur for fly tying. I think it is a silly rule.
Bill-you can claim a car/truck killed deer but you need to get a tag from the local sheriff's dept., police dept., or DNR. We just don't like gravel in our venison! lol
Kenny :bigsmyl:
I live next to the game warden for oue county and he has told me one of the reasons you see so many deer on the side of the road in the spring is because the deer that were hit and killed over the winter but made it off the road onto someones property get drug out to the road by the landowner to be picked up by the road crews. Many landowners do not want the carcass on their property and do not want to have to dispose of it themselves. I will salvage road kill if I see the deer hit or know when it was killed but don't tell my wife and kids. They like to eat venison. Don't want to ruin that.
I swear that this is the only way I get deer anymore. If I see it hit, I'm pulling over. Not to mention, at work the police call my department to go pick it up to get the dead deer out of the public eye.
It's my version of "Fast Food".