Most drivers swerve to avoid hitting wildlife on the road. But in West Virginia, if you're not quick enough and accidentally strike a deer, rabbit, or other animal, the law says you can legally take it home for dinner. Yes, really.

Under West Virginia Code §20-2-4, you can possess roadkill as long as you follow two simple rules: notify law enforcement within 12 hours of claiming the animal, and obtain a non-hunting game tag within 24 hours. That's it. Free meat, courtesy of an unfortunate encounter with your bumper.

What You Can (and Can't) Take

The law covers most wildlife you'd encounter on West Virginia roads—deer, rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, even bears. But there are exceptions. Protected birds, elk, spotted fawns, and bear cubs are off-limits, no matter how fresh they look on the asphalt.

This isn't some obscure regulation gathering dust in a law book. West Virginia signed this into law in 1998 after Governor Cecil Underwood declined to veto it, and it's been actively used ever since.

The Annual Roadkill Cook-Off

West Virginians take their roadkill so seriously that Pocahontas County hosts an annual Roadkill Cook-Off as part of their Autumn Harvest Festival. The 2025 event is scheduled for September 27th.

Before you panic: contestants don't actually cook real roadkill at the festival. They use clean, store-bought meat from animals that belong to the same species as common roadkill victims. Think groundhog, opossum, deer, rabbit, bear, crow, squirrel, snake, and turkey prepared with creative flair.

The competition has become a cultural institution, drawing crowds curious to taste dishes made from animals they usually only see flattened on Route 219.

Why This Law Exists

West Virginia's roadkill law isn't just quirky—it's practical. Vehicle-wildlife collisions happen frequently in rural areas, and the meat from a freshly killed deer is perfectly edible. Rather than let thousands of pounds of protein rot on the roadside, the state decided to let people salvage it.

The notification requirement serves multiple purposes:

Prevents poaching (you can't shoot a deer and claim it was roadkill)
Helps wildlife agencies track collision patterns
Ensures the animal was genuinely hit by accident

Other states have adopted similar laws, but West Virginia's version is notably straightforward and well-established.

Is Roadkill Actually Safe to Eat?

If the animal was killed recently and you field dress it properly, roadkill can be just as safe as hunted game. The key factors are freshness and temperature. A deer hit on a cold November morning is far different from one that's been baking on July pavement for eight hours.

Many hunters argue there's no practical difference between an animal killed by a bullet versus a Chevy Silverado—dead is dead, and proper handling matters more than cause of death. Just make sure you're not claiming something that's been decomposing for days.

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