By Sari Lesk
Stevens Point Journal Media
STEVENS POINT – Motorists who kill deer in auto crashes no longer need to contact local police to get a permit allowing them to keep the game meat.
A new state Department of Natural Resources call center can issue permits at any time of day or night. Previously, a motorist who wanted to keep a roadkill carcass had to contact local police who then had to send an officer who would issue a permit before the animal could be removed from the site.
The law changed to save both drivers and officers time after crashes — particularly important when officers may be busy with emergencies, Portage County Sheriff Mike Lukas said.
And there are a lot of crashes in Wisconsin — about 26,000 deer are killed by vehicles every year, according to the DNR.
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