In Wisconsin Richard Sanders had only thought about roadkill as something served up by his uncle 'The Colonel' until a friend came across a very large bear on the roadside near Hudson.The animal was bigger than any trophy bear the friends had bagged over the years, and they thought it deserved a better fate than rotting by the road."It is not their fault they were hit by a car or truck instead of being shot by us," Sanders said.
"They shouldn't go unnoticed."In their memory Sanders created a list online: The Road Kill Record Book Club.
The roadkill bear, which is now at the taxidermist, will have its place on the Web site and in his friend's den where he can repeatedly bag it at his leisure.
The Road Kill Record Book Club Web site includes a gallery and registry for bears, cougars, elk and other animals killed by vehicles. It also offers memberships and merchandise such as a roadkill shaped door-mat and plate ware set.
But Sanders cautioned that the Web site should not be seen as promoting accidents or glorifying roadkill unlike his other site that promotes and glorifies bloodsports.
He plans to provide information on peak danger seasons for vehicle-deer collisions and tips on reporting roadkill."The Web site is written in a serious vein, because it is a touchy subject," he said.
The friend who helped him start the Web site dropped out after receiving flak about it, said Sanders, 60, of Prescott, a marketing consultant for hunting-related clients.
Lou Cornicelli, big-game program coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, scoffed at the idea of a Web site devoted to roadkill.
"I thought I had seen everything, but I hadn't until now," Cornicelli said.
He added, "I don't see it serving a purpose, but if he wants to have a Web site for animals smacked by Buicks, more power to him.
"Wisconsin wildlife officials were more charitable.
"It certainly is a novel idea," said Keith Warnke, Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources big-game specialist. "I suppose it could serve an educational purpose, especially if they provide information on peak seasons and what to do if you see a deer in the road such as the best spots to hit it so it doesn't do damage to your car ."
Mark Burmesch, an Eau Claire-based regional DNR warden, cautioned that people must get permission from the DNR and pay a claiming fee before picking up roadkill.
The fee starts at $10 and depends on species and condition.
A DNR warden will respond in 3-4 days if you want permission to keep some roadkill.
On the Net:Road Kill Record Book Club:
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2 comments:
mmm I clicked over to that site and well..I wonder if that little dog might be overdue for a dose of something..like rabies from a raccoon..
We get a lot of wallabies, possums and occasionally rabbits killed on the roads here.
It gives me the shits that people don't slow down and try to avoid running over the animals..I bet the fuckers would stop if it was a cow in the middle of the road...
b: It shits me even more when people hit a wallaby and then leave it wounded on the side of the road.
I used to live in Wisconsin. When we drove 30 miles through the woods to the big city of 9,000 people for our groceries, one person was always on the lookout for deer. If one jumps out in front of you, you slow way down because there's usually another behind it.
They feel sorry for a bear that's been hit by a car, but they allow bear baiting with huge piles of candy so folks can pick off a bear with a gun, and out-of-staters who come up with abused dogs that they release anywhere they please to go hunt the poor things. One day I saw a mama with 3 cubs on the side of the road, hopefully she kept away from the hunters that year.
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