Wisconsin DNR may be getting out of the dead deer business

MADISON (AP) — Spot a dead deer on the side of the road?

Gov. Scott Walker doesn't want the state Department of Natural Resources paying to clean it up.

Walker's budget would delete $700,000 in funding a year for DNR to pay for disposal of deer carcasses along state highways. The Legislature's budget committee was slated to debate it on Wednesday.

Under Walker's proposal, responsibility for carting off the dead deer would fall to whatever other government agency is in charge of the roadway. Or they may be left uncollected.

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau cautions that "dead and decaying deer on the roadside are unsightly and can dampen Wisconsin's reputation as a tourist destination."

Last year, 23,800 dead deer were collected from Wisconsin highways.