I’m a convert to roadkill cuisine, and I can’t wait to try the deer I found on the A1 and stuck in the freezer

A friend in California sent me a story from her local newspaper this week, announcing that a “waste not, want not” bill is being considered that would permit the removal of roadkill from the Golden State’s highways for food.

There are advanced plans for an app which would allow users to log where roadkill has been spotted as well as issuing permits for it to be removed. The bill will only apply to large game – such as deer, boar, and elk – and not small mammals like squirrels and raccoons.

According to one survey, around 20,000 deer alone are killed on the state’s roads every year. In other states (Oregon, Montana and Idaho) collecting roadkill for culinary purposes is already permitted.

In this country there is no such dreary bureaucracy.

Our house has been eating roadkill for some months, ever since my partner followed a YouTube tutorial in order to butcher a deer he had found by the road in North Yorkshire.

We’ve since eaten two muntjacs (very tasty slow cooked) and we’ve got a roe deer in the freezer, found on the A1. YouTube showed me how to skin a dead pheasant in 15 seconds.

Some vegans justify eating roadkill because a life has already been taken. I’m eating it because it’s free-range (maybe a bit too adventurous for its own good!). But mostly, it tastes just as good.