This is a great article and still very relevent here in N.Z. Last year on the way back to Auckland from Taupo (about a 4 hour drive)my friend Quentin and I managed to find in good condition 1 large male turkey, 1 malard, 1 Australasian harrier hawk and a cock pheasant in absolutely perfect nick.
As I remeber we had not caught alot of fish that weekend but we did come home with plastic bags full of great feathers!
All the best.
Mike.
Free is my favorite color 
May the fish that you catch always be larger than the hole in your net
I could have had a full beaver pelt 2 weekends ago…but the missus told me I’d be single if the beaver made it into the car
Hi Gents,
A buddy saw a river otter get hit by a
truck while crossing the road. He was on
the way to gas up his truck. So he stops,
throws the otter in the back of the pickup
and goes to the station. After paying for
his gas, he walks out and finds a warden,
ticket book in hand, writing him a 400 buck
reminder that ignorance of the laws is not
an excuse.G Warm regards, Jim
Hey guys, is it realy against the law to pick up road kill in some states?
Is this to help in the fight against poaching?
All the best.
Mike.
I have driven by countless road kills and almost pulled over to grab a feather or two. Legalities aside (not because I’m planning to break the law, but just curious) what do you do with the thing after you pick it up. If you just grab a couple of feathers should you wash them in something? What about skins? I have never skinned anything, do you have to put something on it to cure it, or just hang it out to dry? Do you wash the skins also? Speaking of legalities, where should I look to find out whether or not this is legal in my state (PA/MD).
Hey Folks,
Here in SC, it must first be an open
hunting season on the animal and then you
must possess a license to kill the animal.
Otherwise, it is a poached animal in your
possession. Do the math.G Warm regards,
Jim
Gburg, I don’t normaly take the whole skin, just pluck the feathers you want and do not wash them or you will remove the oils. Simply place in a plastic container with a couple of moth balls.
As for a poached animal in your possesion, what about if you pluck it there on the side of the road and only have the feathers in your possesion? surely then it is no different to buying feathers from an outfitters and having them with you in your car?
All the best.
Mike.
Hot dang! Road kill… 
I really enjoyed the article and have gotten many a buck tail that way!
Mike T., one thing for sure to be careful of with feathers, is protected speicies. The feathers alone can produce some hefty fines…
Spelling and Grammar not subject to judgement… 
Hi Mike,
You might want to double check with fish and game on the hawk feathers. I seem to recall reading that hawk feathers were no longer “allowed”; similar to how we cannot use kiwi feathers even if they are found on the ground.
- Jeff
Here in VT roadside gathering is strictly forbidden. Once when I was on my way to work ( I am not saying in what state) I spotted a red fox on the side of the road. It was still warm, and there was snow on the ground so I figured it was fresh. When I got to work I threw it in the freezer. After it had a few days to set up solid I went after it with a pair of electric dog clippers. I now have a whole box of fox fur, all in a nice variety if shades and textures. I keep the tail intact.
AgMD
Flyfishers are funny people, who in there right mind would be coveting road kill for recreational pursuits? Well I am going to be looking at road kill differently, wonder how fresh it is…I love the story about the frozen fox and the dog shears. Made my day.
Here in the UK the law is very strange, if it is a game species, rather than something classed as pest, if you kill it with your car and pick it up it is classed as poaching. If the car in front of you kills it and you pick it up, it’s roadkill and no problem. A shame that the guy in from may have written their car off by hitting a deer and have nothing to show for it and the guy behind has a freezer full of meat/tying material and a working motor lol
Born to fish, forced to work.
Take a look at the Pat Mcmanus article in the latest outdoor life.
Lew
Darn, I thought this thread was going to be about recipes.
[This message has been edited by Pete Hiatt (edited 12 July 2006).]
Mike, the law was enacted to protect some of the restaurants in the aforementioned states…
Ed
I recall in 1998 many folks in WV were happy that a ‘road kill’ law passed stating that if you kill a deer, etc. with your car, you can pick it up and use the meat, instead of just leaving it there to rot and eventually be used for whatever the state does with it. I am guessing that goes with hides, maybe birds, too. I don’t know.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=“1” face=“Verdana”>quote:</font><HR> Here in SC, it must first be an open
hunting season on the animal and then you
must possess a license to kill the animal.
Otherwise, it is a poached animal in your
possession. Do the math.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Only problem with that law, Jim, is that you haven’t killed or poached the roadkill animal and they can’t prove you have (burden is on them for proof of a crime). Write letters and petition your State Rep.s to repeal or rewrite the unreasonable law. I would be raising an unholy stink about that law if I lived there. Buzzards are the only winners and possibly good materials go to waste. Its a waste of natural resources as far as I’m concerned and punishing the finders/keepers.
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
[This message has been edited by dixieangler (edited 14 July 2006).]
Free is my favorite color
I love it!
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:66f8d]Sweetness On The Water[/url:66f8d]
[url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/bgl/:66f8d]Good Ol? Lepomis Macrochirus[/url:66f8d]
I work in the bush here in Alberta and have aquired numerous feathers, some rabbit fur, and some deer hair all as road kill. Not sure the legalities of it, but I am pretty sure most of the local Conservation Officers would be understanding as long as a guy doesn’t go out and buy a sturdy old truck and purposely start mowing down game birds and deer. I have has numerous grouse just fly into my windshield and almost land in the back of my truck which has been totally unintentional. I even aquired one that bounced off my chest ( at 60 km/h) when I was on my quad one day. I hunt as well and only keep meat when in season, but feathers and hides are fair game to me. Though if I ever come accroos a silver fox or something I will be picking it up and taking it in to get proper papers stating I am allowed to possess it as proceeds of roadkill.
-Hillard