A Furrier Option?

September 27, 2010 5:32 AM

How can I get skillful with roadkill?

I live in West Virginia (but travel fairly often to Virginia as well) and see roadkill almost every day. Many creatures only
remain on the road for about a week, when on the side of the road rather than the middle, before they are picked up by
humans or animals.

While I'm not a hunter or trapper, I've always been interested in learning how to skin and treat furs but have never
really had the chance to test this.

How do I start? Are there books (with pictures, if possible?) on how to do this? What tools should I acquire?

Are there laws concerning this? Do I need a permit of some sort in order to handle the bodies and skins of certain animals?
Can I skin it right there in the woods or should I bring it somewhere? Bringing the whole animal home is not an option,
by the way, and I have no place to skin a creature in any sort of yard.

What tips can any hunters or trappers share on this? What problems am I going to face?

How do I prepare/treat a skin so the fur remains? Is there a way to sell these?

And are there any unforseen problems (or good things) about the roadkill options available?
The animals that commonly get hit here are: squirrel, rabbit, opossum, raccoon, groundhog,
skunk (eastern spotted and striped)(even possible?), snakes(?), and deer.

Other animals in the area are: mink, fisher, otter, beaver, fox, coyote, mountain lion, black bear, wild boar,
bobcat, porcupine, and muskrat. Oh, and technically, feral cats.


**I'm also not above accepting some information on cooking roadkill or making things from the furs,
but I encourage the main topic be about the above.

posted by DisreputableDog to sports, hobbies, & recreation (13 answers total)

These people can help:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paleotechnics/55163505758
posted by rikschell at 5:55 AM on September 27, 2010

Get in touch with the WV Department of Natural Resources.

It appears that, under WV law, if you strike and kill an animal with your car, you can take it home as long as you report it to the DNR within 12 hours, but do check with the conservation folks.

Here's an Instructable (warning: graphic pictures. Do not click if you are sensitive to pictures of dead squirrel) on curing squirrel skins.

That said, NO CATS. I found your inclusion of them distasteful. (This is not a derail; we fix our ferals as we can trap them and they're great rodent control in the barn.)
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:26 AM on September 27, 2010

I saw this book in the Weird Book room on Abebooks, maybe it would be helpful.

Or if you want to do skeletons, you could set up a tank of dermestid beetles (warning: needs to be in an area with adequate ventilation.)

I just hope that you don't go out of the way to "create" more roadkill & just use
the abundant supply of poor creatures that fell to other vehicles.
posted by bolognius maximus at 6:39 AM on September 27, 2010

I'd think that there would be rips and holes in the skins of roadkill which would complicate getting any sort of good price for them. The prices for (most) furs in prime condition are not really that good. That said, you could probably make something out of them.

You will want to get the freshest roadkill you can, obviously.

The magazine Fur, Fish and Game has some good info on prices and how to go about making money trapping.

You should be able to skin them on the spot, but you need a basement area or a shed where the carcasses can be stretched, tanned and dried.

For the actual preparation, there should be resources at your local library on this topic. (also here's an amazon search)
posted by ArgentCorvid at 6:42 AM on September 27, 2010

"carcasses" in the 2nd to last line should be "skins"
posted by ArgentCorvid at 6:49 AM on September 27, 2010

In Maryland someone occasionally puts on a primitive skills workshop that teaches flint napping, bowmaking and tanning. There might be something similar in your area.
posted by electroboy at 7:30 AM on September 27, 2010

You certainly want, as MonkeyToes suggested, to contact the WV-DNR, particularly regarding bears. The DNR has specific regulations regarding the handling of bear carcasses because they are closely tracking their population. This includes removing and sending in the molars and sex organs of the dead bear. Deer may also be an issue as there is a program of testing road-kill deer to track the spread of chronic wasting disease in WV. Finally, another concern regarding DNR is what to tell a game warden that pulls you over with a deer in the back of your truck? A letter "permit" from DNR headquarters could help get you out of a lot of trouble and hq may have contact info for local agents so you can give them a heads up regarding your finds. Finally, the DNR may have the names of some local fur dealers that may buy the skins. You would have to contact the processor to find out what state they want the skins and the handling that they desire.

With that:

That said, NO CATS. I found your inclusion of them distasteful.

I don't think the OP was suggesting killing any cats, just skinning the previously deceased. I don't think you are legally permitted to sell any products made from dog or cat.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 7:34 AM on September 27, 2010

I just hope that you don't go out of the way to "create" more roadkill & just use
the abundant supply of poor creatures that fell to other vehicles.

Excuse me, but wtf? I stated the above scenario of how roadkill is "created" before I'd ever get there. If I was interested in bringing creatures to meet their deaths, I would have made this a question about hunting, and not about _roadkill_.
While I'm not a hunter or trapper, ....

That said, NO CATS. I found your inclusion of them distasteful. (This is not a derail; we fix our ferals as we can trap them and they're great rodent control in the barn.)

While I appreciated your opinion on how cats could be considered distasteful (mostly due to our culture, as I understand it), your personal/use relationship with your animals isn't necessary. I love cats, but I do believe that my picking up a random feral on some back road, found between fields in the middle of nowhere with no nearby barn, is undoubtedly better than it being pulverized by vehicles over so many weeks, getting picked apart by crows and possums, and then turning into a permanently road staining goop.

I don't think you are legally permitted to sell any products made from dog or cat.

A very good point. If I didn't have another animal option, I suppose this would be my last resort for practice.

Thank you everyone for the references so far.
posted by DisreputableDog at 8:30 AM on September 27, 2010

Also, if anyone has any ideas as to where else I could get a skin of _fill in animal here_ locally, I'd appreciate the tips. Like, I've heard butchers will have deer skins sometimes? Or would taxidermists? Would there be a price for these?

If I don't have a basement or shed to stretch and tan/treat a skin/fur, where could I go that would be inexpensive if I had to pay?
posted by DisreputableDog at 8:46 AM on September 27, 2010

ARFCOM tutorial on skinning a squirrel. (Graphic pictures; again, don't click if you don't want to see blood and innards.)

Another point to bear in mind is whether your road kill could be disease-bearing. What safety measures would you have to take (if any)?

I didn't know WV had a taxidermy association, but evidently it does. You might want to attend an event if possible, and make inquiries there. Perhaps you could email them for local folk to talk to?

We disagree on feral cat disposal, but I don't want to fight about it.

Let me ask a couple of folks about skinning. If I come up with any other advice, I'll post again.
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:24 AM on September 27, 2010

One last:

First remove the deer skin. These are field-expedient instructions (and are quite graphic, blood and guts, don't click if you don't like gore, etc.).

Tanning Deer Hides and Small Fur Skins from New Mexico State University's Extension Service (almost forgot: call your local extension service with your question--there's a good chance they'll know about classes and/or local resources).

Good luck!
posted by MonkeyToes at 11:30 AM on September 27, 2010

I wasn't trying to be insulting, DisreputableDog. I just have heard people around here talking about critters (raccoons, usually) "accidentally" meeting the front end of their vehicles. Kind of a sport, for some.

I remember talking to a guy out here who had a raccoon problem, and he said that in one year he shot 96 of them on his property. He said that he sold the skins to buyers in Russia, where there apparently is a market for the skins (winter coats). Maybe try googling that to see if you can find a place to sell them?
posted by bolognius maximus at 2:36 PM on September 27, 2010

And I'm sorry if I reacted a little snippily in return.

By the way, this already has so many good answers, that picking some best answers is very difficult. Everyone provided me with aspects or resources I hadn't thought of. Thanks.
posted by DisreputableDog at 6:59 AM on September 28, 2010