Roadkill, Sort Of

June 29 2017

Question: From your column, I’ve learned that roadkill is illegal to recover (so that I don’t hunt with my truck). Here’s my question: In our hilly neighborhood the turkeys often fly into the power lines, causing a power outage right around breakfast time. On my way to work I see the roasted turkey near the road. Since PG&E killed it while it was flying during spring turkey season, and it was obviously fresh, I’m curious if it could have gone into my fridge? If so, I assume it would have counted against my possession limit. Or is PG&E meat treated the same as roadkill? (Respectfully, Scott S.)

Answer: Good one!! Thanks so much for your entertaining question. However, unfortunately, you still can’t load these roasted turkeys into your fridge even if it occurred during an open turkey season. Powerline-killed turkeys are not legal to keep because electrocution is not a legal method of take. To keep a turkey, you must hunt it during the open season with a valid hunting license and upland validation and use a legal method of take.

Yeah, so shoot it in the head before taking it home.

-Allen

Yeah, so shoot it in the head before taking it home.

-Allen

It was alive i swear, and shoot it. 

Had a buddy that lived up at lake Berryessa back in high school. One evening we are driving to his house and we hit a turkey with his truck doing like 50. The turkey smashed his grill and broke one of his off road lights. He decided if it cost him money, might as well eat it. He pulls it out from his grill, snaps its neck really fast and throws it at my feet on the floorboard.

Five minutes later the fucking bird decides to come back to life, and like Bird Jesus he baptized us in shit and feathers. We still are that fucker. Tasted good too.

Talk to your legislators.  Montana's roadkill statute has been very popular, and I have certainly taken advantage of it.  I posted a description of a fishing trip on which I got 10 mountain whitefish and two roadkilled elk at http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=14677.0.  In 2016 I got three roadkilled deer, with only one hindquarter lost to automobile damage.  They provided enough meat that I only shot one deer in 2016.