Local Fishing Guide Makes Video Of Harvesting Roadkill To Show How The Experience Can Be Positive And Put Food In Your Freezer

Washington – According to Ashley Nicole Lewis of Bad Ash Outdoors, there’s more to scraping a deer off the side of the road than just dinner. Saving the animal and sharing the meat with family and friends can turn tragedy into beauty and eliminates waste. Fm News 101 KXL has reported on both Oregon and Washington allowing you to legally harvest roadkill, as long as you report it and fill out a permit, you can read more about that below. But we’ve never talked with someone who has utilized the idea, until now.

Ashley is a fishing guide in the Northwest based on the Olympic Peninsula. She recently helped her friend process a deer that was hit and killed. She made a youtube video out of it to show how it can be a good thing. They ended up with about 40 lbs of burger and sausage in the freezer. She says it’s terrible when an animal life is lost and the meat goes to waste. She wanted to share this experience because she says it draws you closer to the outdoors and strengthens your relationship with nature.

“As sportswomen and men, we understand that it doesn’t matter if an animal was shot with a gun or with a bow and arrow, or hit by a car – it doesn’t change the meat really.”

“Seeing the animal get saved as much as possible and shared among friends and family, it’s a beautiful thing for an otherwise tragic situation.”

Ashley has experience of processing meat from hunting and fishing and knows what bloodshot meat looks like and the “bad” parts to avoid eating. It’s something that requires help and guidance if you don’t have any experience. There are a lot of safety concerns about roadkill that has been there awhile, or may have disease. Basically, if you didn’t hit it with your car, or didn’t watch it happen, it may not be safe to harvest. We’ve interviewed the USDA Food and Safety experts who say they don’t recommend eating meat harvested this way because of the potential risks.

But many experienced in the outdoors will tell you it can be a great experience, if you do it the right way.

Click here for more about harvesting in Washington State

Click here for more about harvesting in Oregon

You can follow Ashley and Bad Ash Outdoors on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more.