If you hit it, you can eat it, under new rules for roadkill that came into effect in Idaho last month.
Previously, animals killed by cars could not be taken from the roadway, but the Idaho Legislature passed a law that provided guidelines for salvaging animals.
Black bears, American beavers and ring-necked pheasants, for example, can be taken from roadways. Protected species, like the lynx or the mountain woodland caribou, may not, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
However, in order to salvage the roadkill, a permit must be obtained from the department within 24 hours of killing the animal.
The permit will also allow the department to track what animals are getting hit by traffic and where, says Conservation Information Supervisor Mike Demick.
“With this reporting system, not only are we going to keep track of the salvage of roadkill in Idaho, but we’re also going to encourage the public to report just flat roadkill,” Demick says.
The reporting system went online last week.
