California Legalizes Eating Roadkill

                So it’s come to this: California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill making it legal for residents of the formerly Golden State to take, cook and eat roadkill, KCAL-TV and other news outlets have reported.  Senate Bill 395, a.k.a. the “roadkill bill,” will go into effect in 2022 and allow people to possess and eat animals they unintentionally hit or find on state roads. Those desirous of consuming said roadkill would be required to obtain a salvage permit by providing information about how and where the animal was killed. If an animal is struck but alive, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will decide whether or not to put it down.

                The law’s professed goal is twofold: one, to eliminate the waste of carcasses, and two, to learn how to make roads safer for drivers and animals. State Senator Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera) said, “When you look at the statistics, the number of injuries and accidents and fatalities, it’s about time. If we can save one life, save one animal, I think we’ve done the right thing here.” (Funny, Democrats never say that about abortion).

                Opponents of the bill claim that it may prompt some drivers to purposefully strike animals. The reality is that those that would purposely strike animals under the new law purposely strike animals today. Criminals are singularly unaffected by…laws. (See also, “stricter gun laws”).

                That said, what strikes me about the new law is the timing of its passing. Due to the state’s hard left policies, homelessness is endemic. Needles and feces cover the streets of several of the state’s largest cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles among them. Energy prices in the erstwhile Land of Milk and Honey are sky high. Home prices higher still. The state recently instituted rolling power blackouts, supposedly in a proactive effort to protect against more catastrophic wildfires. This resulted in cell phones being silenced, medical devices being shut down, traffic lights and toilets being rendered inoperable, and dairy, meat, and produce items on grocery shelves going bad or rotting. In other words, leftists are making California look more and more like Venezuela.

                Sure, things look bleak for the large left coast state with the country’s most progressive policies. But, with the passage of this bill, its citizens have an inexpensive alternative to eating out or buying their food from grocery stores. Now their places of residence—if they have one—can be instantly transformed into a “Roadkill Café.”

                The state’s streets might no longer be paved with gold, but they are paved with roadkill. And, in this Brave New World, that might be just enough for some of its residents.