A new state regulation allows people to harvest certain wild animals killed by cars on the road.
A new Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) rule that took effect March 25 allows motorists to collect animals killed in vehicular accidents as long as they apply for a retroactive permit within 24 hours. One permit applies to one animal.
Carcasses of animals permitted for salvage are white-tailed deer, turkeys, beavers, coyotes, muskrats, pheasants, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, woodchucks and mute swans.
Red and gray foxes and fishercats can also be harvested, but salvagers need to contact the DEM’s Department of Fish and Wildlife within a week. DEM may collect bones or teeth from foxes and fishercats for analysis, as part of broader trapping regulations and research into wildlife populations.
The new regulation derives from 2024 legislation introduced by Rep. David Bennett and Sen. David Tikoian in their respective chambers. The new rule, according to the DEM, is designed to “make use of an underutilized resource and eases the burden on state staff removing carcasses.”
The DEM expects motorists to observe traffic laws when collecting roadkill specimens. If the animal is field-dressed on the side of the road, motorists are prohibited from leaving behind the animal’s internal organs because it can attract more wildlife to the road.
Collectors can’t attach hunting tags to the carcasses, and injured animals cannot be killed for salvage unless law enforcement approves otherwise, the DEM rule states.
Meat from roadkill can only be consumed, and not sold, donated or used as bait. Any unused parts need to be properly and legally disposed of.
Deer can make for particularly harmful and expensive collisions, the DEM noted, and the department received 1,347 reports of deer collisions last year. On average, these collisions cost about $6,717 in damages, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
