Alaska roadkill thieves target moose meant for charity

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Thieves coming across dead moose on Alaska roads are stealing the carcasses, making away with hundreds of pounds of meat that normally goes to a program run by state troopers that gives it to the needy and others willing to butcher the carcasses, officials said Wednesday.

Alaska's cold weather allows residents to take advantage of roadkill meat as food because carcasses stay fresh long enough for federation drivers to retrieve them in time for them to be butchered rapidly.

The federation picked up about 500 moose over the last year and retrieves as many as 800 during years with heavy winter snows.

Besides depriving the needy of moose meat, the roadkill thieves waste the time of troopers and the federation, Dyer said.