Any elk or deer hit by motorists can now be gathered for food; all someone has to do is apply for a free permit with the state. The animal can weigh up to 300 pounds.
The animal will be classified as free-range game meat.
The legislation says that purposefully hitting an animal for meat is unlawful, but the ability to enforce such a stipulation is questionable.
If the animal is injured, not killed, salvagers are required to kill the animal.
The permit requires the head to be handed over to the state.
My question is: why would anyone actually apply for the permit before clearing the carcass? And, in the event they were caught red-handed (blood on their hands anyone?), they could always claim they were going to apply for the permit later.
In a dystopian setting it seems there might not be a need for the permits, but the attempt at control by Oregon could be an interesting example of how those in power attempt to limit the amount of meat available to the rest of the population. Especially if meat is scarce due to lack of weapons, the ability to hit animals could lead to massive amounts of roads and dwindling natural habitat. It would be interesting to come up with a short story around this concept…
