Fall is deer hunting season, and shooters and archers around the state are trying their best to harvest a trophy animal for tasty meat, and something to mount on their wall.

For non-hunters, there’s still a way to get venison and a trophy, and you don’t even have to venture into the wilderness to do it. Iowa DNR Conservation Officer Jeremy King says roadkill deer can be taken with a salvage tag. “Whoever hits it gets first claim at it. If they don’t want it, it’s first come, first served. You can call me, my cell phone number’s published on www.iowadnr.gov . Let me know you came across the roadkill deer, if it’s a buck or a doe and I can give you a free tag for that deer, that will allow you take that deer.”

King says the only catch is, if you’re willing to take any of the deer, you have to take all of it. “We had an incident last year, where somebody hit a buck and then somebody cut the head off it, then left. That salvage tag is not only good for the rack. When I give you a salvage tag, you have to take the whole animal. You don’t have to eat it, but you have to take the whole animal out of the ditch, and not just cut the head or the rack off and leave.”
According to state code, game salvage tags can also be issued by state troopers and sheriff’s offices.