Discussion.... Road Kill

[needles]

hi everyone,

I read a very interesting article, and whilst I think its a good idea essentially not sure i would want to be out and about collecting.

what do you guys think..?

would you/ could you.?

would you wear it..?

http://modernfarmer.com/2014/12/one-woman-revolutionizing-fur-industry-using-roadkill/

[Tree Reaper]

Road kill is generally ripped up pretty well, that's why she's using it for accessories.

You wouldn't want it if it was killed in a warm climate, the fur would not be prime and it would slip unless you were at the scene when it happened.

Some communities don't allow it.

I did harvest a road killed marten once and someone somewhere is wearing it, I received $65 for that one from a buyer.

[leatherwytch]

This means if she is using roadkill she has to be perched by the side of the road like the grim reaper. It says her custom coats start at $1000. So how many roadkill beavers does she need for a coat....LOTS. I have seen even roadkill deer and although there is more to salvage there you have to skin them right now, get that skin salted and tanned. With fur it still should be kept cold somehow until that tanning process is done. I have seen muskrats that have been dead not even a day and this is not noted to be a excessively warm climate. And it if you were caught by the RCMP/fish and wildlife you could guarantee a huge fine. As this woman is in the US they have different rules in different states.

I personally go to yard sales and buy old fur coats to remake into other things. The reason is that poor animal(s) lost their lives for it so I won't let it go to the garbage.

[Grey Drakkon]

Hmm, guess I kind of did this! I "harvested" a chipmunk that had been run over by a bicycle because someone I knew wanted to try making a paint brush out of the tail. Those suckers are practically suicidal on the campus I went to.

[DoubleC]

I don't see any difference in this than any other hair on hides we use? I say good on her for using an otherwise wasted resource It does make me wonder about whether the hawks and buzzards are getting enough to eat. I've seen hawks swoop down on a freshly hit animal and of course buzzards, as nuch as the turn my stomach, do have a place here in this world. But she says the amount of road kill is enormous so that shouldn't be a problem.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

On average I would see 15 deer hit on my way to work when I took one route in. During the winter they are kept plenty cold to prevent spoilage, some are even frozen by morning.

[billybopp]

Some US states even have a call list for people who will come by and pick up roadkill when the police find it. It gives the people potentially a meat ( and leather ) source, and gets the mess cleaned up at no expense to the state. Double win!

Bill

[needles]

we camp out a lot or used to when we had weekends free, and hardley ever saw much in the way of road kill, odd small animal but nothing of any real use larger.

I think its a great idea, and may appease the anti leather/fur brigade. but probably not.

still not sure i cold go pick up something thats been recently killed, skin there and then.... got to admit i prefer my hides pre detached...... think I'm just a wuss. ha ha certainly wish her luck.

[MonicaJacobson]

Really cool idea. People are used to the idea when it comes to snakes, I guess. My husband tanned a squirrel hide when he was younger.... but it slipped. He probably did it mid-summer. Chipmunks have beautiful fur patterns.

Just wait, buying leather will become too expensive in a few years, and we'll all have to start working with squirrel leather. There's no way we'll run out of that.