Steven Rinella over at Petersen’s Hunting wrote a recent blog post, Why Everyone Should Eat Roadkill.  He makes some nice points as to why it is good to eat roadkill, but it’s not a perfect world and there are some serious considerations to be made about eating roadkill.  It is very easy to say that it’s being resourceful by using an animal that would otherwise go to waste, but you better be careful that animal hasn’t already gone to waste.

Here are a few reasons why I tend to be hesitant to eat roadkill:

1. It’s illegal to take roadkill in my area.
1. Make sure what you’re doing complies with your local and state laws.
2. Extent of damage to the animal.
1. Most animals in my area that are hit on the road are hit at a high rate of speed and therefore are REALLY messed up.
2. You have to determine if the animal is in a state that any of the meat is actually usable.
3. Temperature and time
1. Once the animal is dead, the clock starts ticking on when the meat is spoiled.  On warmer days, the clock ticks faster.
2. If you see the animal get hit, obviously you know the time it’s been on the ground.  If you simply come across roadkill, you better know how to determine if that meat has spoiled or not.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t eat roadkill, I’m just saying that “Everyone should eat roadkill” is a blanket statement that doesn’t take serious factors into consideration.  I have had friends pickup roadkill and eat it with no problems at all.  It all depends on your situation and knowledge of the factors that determine if the meat is spoiled or not.

Do you have experience eating roadkill?  Let us know about it in the comments.