California Outdoors Q&As  Carrie Wilson is a marine
environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish
and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyones
questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this
column. Please contact her at  Collecting Roadkill Raptors
Question: What are the rules concerning the use of birds of
prey, such as owls, which have been killed by vehicles? I have
found several in the local area which seemed to be dead along
the side of the road but without evidence of damage to the body.
My guess based on where they fell is they are “indirect
roadkills.” If I wanted to save these animals for taxidermy or
another use, would I need some kind of documentation? If so,
what sort of permit would I need? It would be simple to document
the finds I have made photographically at the site, but
preserving them for inspection later by California Department of
Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) would be harder. Thanks for your help
with this. (Ken Z., Visalia)  Answer: Under both s