Animal Law
Illinois Law Allows Fur Trappers to Scoop Up Roadkill
A new Illinois law aims to help clean up roadways by allowing people with the appropriate licenses to help themselves to roadkill.
Under the law, anyone with a furbearer’s license can take animals killed on the road during trapping season for their pelts or for meat, according to the Associated Press. Lawmakers overrode a veto by Gov. Pat Quinn, who feared the dangers of letting people venture onto roads to pick up the dead animals.
At least 14 states have legislation on roadkill, according to informal research done for AP by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Among them are laws allowing drivers to keep animals they hit, though some restrict the catch to deer or bears.
