A Wisconsin lawmaker wants to make it cheaper for people to scoop up fresh roadkill and fill their freezers or decorate their mantels.

Under current law, a motorist who accidentally kills a deer, or a person who finds a deer carcass on the side of the road, can get a tag and claim the animal at no price. But other critters -- bears, turkeys or foxes, for example -- only can be claimed after paying fees.

Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, says her bill would eliminate those fees and thereby encourage more people to pick up roadkill, ultimately saving money and keeping highways cleaner.

"It helps not waste our natural resources when (an animal) gets hit on the road," said Hraychuck, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Fish and Wildlife.

Deer frequently are tagged and claimed by, motorists who hit them or by others who pass by because the animals can produce a fair amount of edible meat.

It's not as gross as it might sound. Jean Jackan, 63, of Weston, said he once retrieved a deer after his nephew drove into it, who suggested after the collision that the deputy who responded to the crash call Jackan.

"Why not, if it's not too banged up?" Jackan said.

State Department of Natural Resources game warden supervisor Randy Falstad said bear and turkeys, for which permits now cost $50 and $10, respectively, also are popular meals plucked from the roads.

So far in 2009, the eight DNR wardens in Marathon, Wood and Portage counties have issued 74 permits for road-kill claims, Falstad said.

Still, that leaves a lot of carcasses rotting on the sides of roads. The Marathon County Sheriff's Department reports an average of 400 deer killed every year on county roadways; the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department reported 438 deer struck in 2008.

The Marathon County Sheriff's Department's dispatchers and the county highway department have a contract with a person who collects the deer carcasses as they are reported.

Fisher, otter and bobcat roadkill require special tags because they are regulated by the federal government, and they cannot be claimed under Hraychuck's bill.