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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

F&G Commission opposes Harwood roadkill bill

The Idaho Fish & Game Commission has voted unanimously to oppose legislation from Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, to allow Idahoans with hunting or trapping licenses to salvage road-killed carcasses - something that's now strictly illegal. "There was concern just because of the potential enforcement problems," said Mike Keckler, Fish & Game spokesman. "If someone were to say, 'Where did you find this animal, how come it doesn't have a tag? And they were able to say, 'Well, I found it on the side of the road' ... that poses a bit of a problem."

Harwood said he proposed the bill after a constituent said a valuable bobcat pelt went to waste after the animal was hit by a car near his home, and the state should've let him salvage it. Road-killed animals are considered state property in Idaho.

The bill, HB 562, is up for a hearing tomorrow afternoon in the House Resources & Conservation Committee. It was among 10 pieces of legislation that the Fish & Game Commission reviewed last Thursday; the commission voted to oppose just two. The other is SB 1333, which would allow cities or counties to permit the capture, neutering and release of feral cats. The commission would prefer that any feral cats that are caught "be dealt with humanely, and not released," Keckler said, because they "tend to cause trouble for wildlife."



Eye On Boise

News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.