Oh, DEER!

By Jeff Berti
As everyone knows, fall is a peak time for deer/car accidents. The months of October, November and December are active months for the white-tail deer. No matter how cautious you may be, you will likely be involved in an accident with a deer at some point in your life.
Many times, road kill deer are suitable for human consumption, and the Department of Conservation makes every effort to see that the meat isn’t wasted. Conservation agents have given away road kills for several years. During the warmer months, spoilage occurs quickly, and it is not always possible to make use of them. However, the cooler temperatures give us more time to find someone to utilize the meat.
So, what should you do in order to receive a road kill deer? First of all, let me know that you are interested. All you need to do is give me a call at 660-654-2677 and give me your name, address and telephone number so I can put you on my list. If you have been on the list in the past, please call me again to let me know that you are still interested. Many phone numbers have changed since the last time I made my list. If, for some reason I don’t answer, please leave the information on my voicemail.
Keep in mind that many road kills occur at night and you may be called out of bed in order to pick up the deer. I need to know if you’re willing to lose a little sleep in order to get some free meat. If you have a time frame that you would like to be called, please include that information in your message.
Some people that hit deer with their vehicles simply don’t want to hassle with them. This happens frequently with out of town motorists or people that are mad about the damage to their car. When this happens, I run down my list until I locate someone who wants the deer.
To make your road kill legal, you need to get a “wildlife donation receipt.” This form states that you have legally received a deer from the conservation agent or other department representative. The receipt will stipulate that the meat is for personal use only and may not be given away. Any part of the deer that is donated with a donation receipt must stay in the possession of the recipient. In other words, if the deer has a big set of antlers, you cannot sell them or give them away without permission by a conservation agent. It will also state that possession of the meat may not exceed 90 days. Other information on the donation receipt deals with the age and sex of the deer, as well as the county where the deer was killed.
Any deer or deer parts that are not taken by legal hunting methods must be accompanied by a donation receipt. If you cut the antlers off of a road kill buck, you need to get a receipt to make them legal. Otherwise, the deer is considered to be illegal. Also, if you want to have the deer processed by a commercial processor, you will need to have the donation receipt before the deer will be accepted.
Agents keep a copy of each donation receipt and additional copies are sent to the regional office in St. Joseph and the Department Headquarters in Jefferson City. Paperwork is kept, in case someone questions the legality of the “closed season” deer hanging in their neighbor’s yard. With the extensive paper trail, it shouldn’t be a problem to explain the situation.
We’re looking for a few dependable people to make use of a valuable resource. With the number of road kills available each year, no person needs to go hungry. Please let me know if you are interested.
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I need your help. Over the past couple of days, I have received calls from people that have found deer with their heads cut off or their antlers cut off and the body left behind to rot. I don’t know about you, but this type of waste makes me angry!
Since an agent can’t be in more than one place at a time, we rely on public cooperation. Fortunately, most people in the area enjoy and respect the wildlife resources and many provide information to me when they witness a violation. This information helps me provide a more thorough coverage of Grundy County.
If you have any information related to the poaching that has been taking place in Grundy County, or any county, please give me a call. Again, my phone number is 660-654-2677. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call the Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-392-1111. Although we will never be able to stop poaching, if we work together, maybe we can slow it down considerably. The next time you witness a wildlife violation, or hear of information pertaining to poaching, please, make the call!