Cowboy State Roadkill Harvesting Now Legal People Can Request Permission Via Wyoming 511 App

[WyoDoug]

Cowboy State roadkill harvesting now legal; people can request permission via Wyoming 511 app

CASPER, Wyo. — Harvesting roadkill from some Wyoming roadways became legal in January 2022 and people are now able to collect roadkill if they first

oilcity.news

 

[Sytes]

Pretty cool app function : News released today. Not sure why it's new news as the app was announced in WyoDoug's thread linked article. One area I am curious about - Why is Wyoming roadkill unable to be donated to families in need / charities? The expense to test meat exceed the value to feed families? Serious Q. A good step for MT (and others) for reporting Big Game hunting harvest.

Road to table: Wyoming's got a new app for claiming roadkill

There truly is an app for everything, including roadkill in Wyoming. A new phone app is making it easy for folks to claim and get permission to salvage and eat freshly killed animals struck by vehicles.

apnews.com

"Wyoming’s new roadkill feature within the state Department of Transportation app helps people quickly claim accidentally killed deer, elk, moose, wild bison or wild turkey after documenting the animal and reviewing the rules for collecting roadkill to eat.

Another purpose is to help people follow the rules. For safety reasons, roadkill in Wyoming may not be collected after dark, along interstate highways or in construction zones.

National parks, such as Yellowstone and Grand Teton, also are off-limits for roadkill retrieval.

Unlike in other states such as Alaska, roadkill meat in Wyoming can’t be donated to anybody, including charities.

The whole carcass must be retrieved, not just the antlers or hide. In Oregon, which allows people to claim roadkill with an online form, people must surrender the head and antlers to wildlife authorities within five days but in Wyoming the whole animal is fair game.

The Wyoming app helps to collect data. By geotagging roadkill with their phones and documenting the species, app users will contribute to the data that help Wyoming wildlife biologists and highway officials decide where to install wildlife crossing signs and other ways of reducing critter deaths."

Other note: Here's PETA's response (and support) though I found it a bit, amusing
From another article:
"...Still, salvaging roadkill continues to enjoy wide support from conservationists, hunters and even some animal rights groups. “PETA has no ethical objection to the legal collection of an animal’s roadway remains — even if we are mystified why anyone would find the idea of eating body parts to be appetizing,” said Ingrid Newkirk, the nonprofit’s president, in an emailed statement.

 

[BuzzH]

You guys can have my share...

 

[WYelker]

You guys can have my share...

First year I lived up here before it was legal to take road kill, I was few seconds behind a yearling moose that got hit. The only thing hit was the head/neck. I stayed
With the kid that had hit it until The state trooper arrived. I would have been very happy to have had the option to take that moose home…

 

[Elknr]

I guess if you arnt the person who hit the animal, how long has it been sitting there?
Winter is different. But At least people can donate or eat it themselves at own risk.

 

[Sytes]

Not able to donate...

But At least people can donate or eat it themselves at own risk.

 

[bucdoego]

Good for Wyoming. Every state should have such an app.

In my state, you can get your name and phone number added to a list and the trooper will call you to get a roadkill animal. If you block unknown callers (think nomorobo), you will never answer that call. '-(

 

[WyoDoug]

I would take roadkill only if I can verify how long it had been sitting there. If it's more than an hour or so I would let it go and let someone more desperate for food or horns pick it up.

 

[Bullshot]

I see more deer killed on local roads by me than I could count. It pains me to think of all that wasted meat, something I don’t think would happen in a more needy country, or our own in a different time. If witnessed or confirmed to be immediately recent, and safely intact, I wholeheartedly support someone using the resource, and as a society, wasting it to rot on the roadside or in a dump is borderline unethical. It’s legal in my state and I am considering that I could literally FILL my freezer, my neighbors, my families, and anybody else’s I know with the bounty if only we saw it as anything more than “roadkill”. It’s the same animals we hunt and spend time and treasure pursuing, telling people it’s not just about sport but about the healthy organic meat. Well, here’s millions of pounds, laying for the taking, and free. A national waste-not, want-not movement I could certainly support!

 

[F250]

Here, you can call the State Police Dispatcher. They can give you an incident number you must keep with you. Then you may legally take the animal (unless you are currently under a license suspension for a previous Fish or Wildlife conviction).