Montana Set to Let Residents Eat Roadkill

Elk, deer, antelope, and moose: If Montanans can scrape it up off the road, they can have it for dinner. State lawmakers are poised to say just that after the state Senate gave its initial support yesterday to a bill that would allow people to salvage roadkill for food. The measure is now a final vote away from heading to Gov. Steve Bullock. Supporters say it makes no sense to let the carcasses go to waste. "It really is a sin to waste a good meat," says one state senator.

The measure calls for law enforcement officers to issue permits to individuals who would be allowed to remove the carcasses of elk, deer, antelope, and moose off the state's roadways. Opponents question whether the meat would be safe and whether it would create liability issues for food banks that accept it. Montana is not alone in considering the usefulness of roadkill. Illinois, for instance, allows people with a permit to remove roadkill for pelts and also allows for the salvaging of meat. (More Montana stories.)