Sportsmen recover roadkill for charity kitchens

Certified volunteers from the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council of Spokane have state-issued permits to dispatch injured game and collect the edible meat for the Union Gospel Mission or other charities.

The council’s Big Game Salvage Committee, which collects thousands of pounds of meat a year, hasn’t noticed much competition from the roadkill collecting public during the first year of Washington’s deer-elk salvage program, said chairman Pete Butler.

The committee responds to calls (telephone (509) 487-8552) regarding dead or injured animals from Spokane County and the southern halves of Stevens and Pend Oreille counties.

“Most of the calls we get involve animals that need to be put down and the general public can’t do that,” he said. “Also, we can collect moose, and the public can’t do that either. A moose is a big deal – hundreds of pounds of meat for people in need.”

So far in 2017, the volunteers have salvaged 38 deer and five moose, which they gut and skin at a council facility before delivering to a charity kitchen.

“Maybe we’ve lost five to 10 animals to roadkill salvagers who got there before we could respond to a call,” he said.