va buck hit may - CopyFrom Popular Science: Jessica Mundall came across a dead buck while driving. The animal had just been hit and killed by a semi-truck, and was still “super fresh.” She and her husband, both hunters, processed the deer on the side of the road….

“After that, we were hooked,” says Mundall, 26, who works for the state’s fish and game department in Boise, Idaho. “We ended up getting our freezer filled off of roadkill.”

Idaho is one of 20-some states that allow the free salvage of roadkill animals (you simply need to report your take to the state and answer a few questions within 24 hours). Other states that allow it include Washington, Pennsylvania, Oregon, West Virginia, Montana, Tennessee and Alaska.

There are some obvious concerns: Is a car-struck deer salvageable or too damaged…? Is the meat still fresh or spoiled…? In a CWD area, is the meat safe to eat…?

But according to State Farm Insurance, an estimated 1.33 million deer will be struck by vehicles this year. A lot of those animals will be salvageable, so that’s a lot of fresh red meat for our freezers, or for a shelter.

California is the latest state to get in on salvage. A recently introduced bill states “the intent of this legislation (is) to make available to Californians tens of thousands of pounds of a healthy, wild, big game food source that currently is wantonly wasted each year following wildlife-vehicle collisions.”

Why don’t all states allow a person to recover, take home and eat a dead deer if you’re willing to take a picture of it and get a salvage permit?

This seems to be a win-win. Would you salvage a roadkill, or maybe you already have?