Introduction
Meet 73-year-old Arthur Boyt, notorious resident of remote Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, and connoisseur of cooking and eating roadkill - nothing is too far fetched or fanciful to end up on his plate. In this film we take a trip into Arthur's universe and learn how to cook a cracking badger casserole, as well as find out how best to prepare polecat meat before cooking...
"I ate a badger once that someone else had picked up because they wanted its skull. It was blown up like a horse on the western front and it smelt rather horrible. When I cut into it the flesh was green but nevertheless I persevered and stewed it. It made the house smell like the old fashioned mental hospitals used too, but boy it tasted delicious!"
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Content
Arthur BOYT: Well, not all my neighbors, know what I am.
Yes, I have a bad reputation for eating roadkill.
ARTHUR BOYT: Here.
We are at the gateway to our property.
It is Butterwell.
Farm.
We had a badger come across here.
Ran across here, and over there.
Every night he was coming down.
And one night, coming up, I very nearly ran him.
Over.
Just caught sight of him about to go under the wheel.
Yes.
Yes, I've hit at least one pheasant and one rabbit.
But I would do my utmost to avoid killing anything.
This is a polecat ferret.
I found it not a mile away from here.
And it.
As you see, has been thoroughly rolled out on the road.
They stink.
The flesh, smells.
But.
You can overcome that by putting the body into running water for four days.
And that will remove that musky tang from the meat.
But yes, you could eat.
It.
You'd have to be pretty hard up to want to eat a polecat.
I live here on [INAUDIBLE], with my wife.
And, with a cat.
I'm, often asked.
How did this all begin? After 1976, when I was living on my own, I, didn't have to bother and with anybody else's feelings in the matter.
The food was there to be brought home and eaten.
I would pick up roadkill in those days to bring home and mount.
I am a taxidermist.
So, I'd, skin things, and then stuff.
And.
Instead of throwing the body, away, I decided to start eating, them.
I think that's how it came about on a regular, basis., I'm, pretty sure I'd eaten badger before that, and a swan.
ARTHUR BOYT: Right here is the famous freezer.
A young hedgehog., A barn owl, that was nearby., An, antler there, and an antler there.
This is a lovely bird.
That's a snipe.
I picked that up in Devon.
I, don't know what this fellow is.
He's a reptile.
Here's a sparrowhawk that flew into the window.
In fact, I've got three sparrowhawks here.
Badger, cat, 2008.
Hind legs of a cat.
Butchered, ready to eat.
And.
A buzzard.
I have occasionally hit an animal myself, by accident.
But I, never aim to kill an animal.
I do my utmost to avoid it.
I.
Come across it in my regular or irregular journeys in and out of Cornwall.
Badger, Camel Valley, April, 2001.
Here's, the heart, the kidneys, and, ah yes, the testes and his willie.
Now, the badger has a bone in its willie called the baculum.
And I've got quite a few of those.
You can eat the penis, yes.
It's, not particularly tasty.
But I'd.
Imagine a bit like in the Arab world.
The horse, penis is quite a delicacy., But I wouldn't say it's anything to write home about.
This.
Is it the badger's head.
This is my favorite, because you've got the big muscles.
Here.
And you've got the salivary glands.
You've got the tongue.
You've got the eyeballs, very essential for good sight.
And.
Then you've got the brain.
So you've got one, two, three, four, five different tastes and textures in one saucepan.
They all taste different, feel different.
Here.
We are.
Where, do I find-- price range, $180 to $680.
ARTHUR BOYT: Hello.
It's, reasonably undamaged? Yes, I know.
I've got it.
OK, we've got a badger.
We'll go along and see if I can find that.
Good.
I don't eat everything, I find.
But.
There's nothing in this country that I, wouldn't eat.
I've eaten a couple of bats.
Not a lot there, I must confess.
I've got the key.
-Would you ever eat your own cat? ARTHUR, BOYT: Where.
Has she gone? There she is.
There.
She is.
We had a cat that died.
And he's buried up.
There.
I didn't eat.
It.
If, my wife found out.
What would I say? ARTHUR BOYT: 1982, I cycled across America, from New Orleans to Winnipeg.
And I found a lot of roadkill, of course, on the way.
On one occasion I stopped near Kansas.
City.
There was this brilliant scarlet bird lying in the gutter.
And I stopped and picked it up.
And.
As I did so, a car drew up beside me.
And.
It was a police car.
And.
He wound down the window, down.
And, he said.
Do you mind stepping off the highway before you get killed? So that was rather nice.
Arthur BOYT: This looks like fresh badger.
Let's, have a look at it, and see what condition it's in.
It's, not too bad.
It's not been squashed.
Yeah.
It may have been here a little while, but it doesn't look rotten yet.
It's jaw is dislocated., I would say it's been for probably at least a month.
But.
It's been very cold weather.
So.
It has kept.
Yeah, it's edible, I reckon.
I have never been ill from eating.
Roadkill.
I've been ill from eating food supplied at a buffet, for instance.
But I've, never been ill, ever, eating, roadkill.
If, it's well cooked, I think there's very little chance of any bugs, bacteria.
Surviving.
Well, we'll take it back and see if it's OK.
And, then skin it, cut it up, and eat it.
It's, a lady, badger., ARTHUR BOYT: I, certainly think there is a lot to be said against eating meat that involves animals being killed on my behalf.
For animals to be killed so that I can eat them, and chuck away.
What I don't fancy is a terrible thing.
You see people in a restaurant that leave no end of meat, uneaten.
Well that animal has died in vain, in a way, you can say.
Shall.
We put it like that? Every.
Joint of meat.
You eat has been hacked from a body like this.
You.
Never think of that when you tuck into a beef burger, do you? Got the knife in, but as you see, with an intact skull, you can get a bit of leverage on it., Nice, crunchy, noises., There's, the heart.
OK.
That's all.
We want from this.
I'm going to leave the neck.
This I shall put out for the crows and the ravens and the buzzards and the foxes.
ARTHUR BOYT: The reason I started eating.
Roadkill regularly was because I was on.
My own.
My wife had been made to leave me.
She'd be made to leave me by the religious sect to which I belonged.
This is me.
In the days when I was young and handsome.
Do, you want it.
Under the light? I'm sitting on my bed in my aunt's house.
And I'm reading, my Bible.
I was a member of the Exclusive Brethren.
I used to preach in the street, three times a week or more.
Until I was 36, when they kicked me out for questioning the administration.
They wanted to stop us from interpreting prayers for the deaf people in the community.
And I questioned, it.
I have a twin brother.
When I got kicked out.
He had no more to do with me.
And.
They made my wife leave.
Me.
It's, unthinkable., So I got a divorce.
And have since happily remarried.
But I now do not believe in the existence of God.
I.
Suppose that eating road kill is a new adventure.
And.
When you first go to eat, something that isn't supplied by the butcher, you've got to cross a threshold.
You are going into unknown territory.
All I'm doing here is just sealing the meat.
And that is well charged with onion and garlic.
I eat a badger once that someone else had picked up and put on one side.
Because.
They wanted it's.
Skull.
It was blown up like a horse on the Western Front.
And.
It smelled rather horrible.
When I cut into it.
The flesh was green.
But nevertheless, I persevered.
And stewed it.
It made the house smell like the old fashioned mental hospitals used to.
But boy, it tasted delicious.
Well, that's the casserole in the oven.
And to be well cooked.
It wants to be in there for three and a half hours.
Then, we'll see how it goes.
Cannibalism, it's a tricky question.
I.
Don't think it for me to make comments about other people being cannibals.
But.
If I were in a situation where there was human flesh, available, and it might sustain me or others with me, I would have no compunction about eating.
It.
All right? Allow me to introduce you to Mister Jonathan King, and his son, Peter King.
He happens to be the brother of my good wife.
I knew someone who worked in a hospital lab who could have got a human leg for me.
But I decided that fun, though it might be, it would be irresistible to tell somebody I'd done.
It.
And, once I told them, I would be branded forever as a cannibal.
Who knows what that might result.
In.
-Badger.
ARTHUR, BOYT:, This way, this way, this way.
Here, we are.
The, skull, meat, slipping off, it.
Look at that, nicely cooked.
Here.
We have a casserole, badger's, head.
Boyt, specialty.
This is very tender.
Mm.
I should be in at the brains in a moment.
I think the brains have all bubbled out, actually.
The have a tendency to do that.
They're, not where they originated.
-How about a tongue? Can.
You pull the tongue, out? ARTHUR, BOYT:, Yeah, I can pull the tongue out.
Here is the tongue.
Do.
You see the tongue there? There's, the tongue.
See that?, Lovely, badger, tongue., Mm., ARTHUR BOYT: Peter, to the badger.
PETER KING: To, the badger.
Thank you.
ARTHUR BOYT: A misses badger, it was, a badger, sow.
PETER KING: It's, not bad, actually..
FAQs
Who was the man who ate roadkill? ›
This 88-year-old man named Amou Jaji gave up washing 68 years ago, after becoming convinced that it would bring him bad luck and eventually kill him. But not taking a shower is not the only thing that keeps people away from Jaji, his diet now consists of raw roadkill, such as porcupine, and drinking water from puddles.
What is the documentary about eating roadkill? ›Exploring the Deep 3 – Traces of Climate Change
Meet 73-year-old Arthur Boyt, notorious resident of remote Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, and connoisseur of cooking and eating roadkill – nothing is too far fetched or fanciful to end up on his plate.
It is also more humane in that animals killed on the road were not castrated, dehorned, or debeaked without anesthesia, did not suffer the trauma and misery of transportation in a crowded truck in all weather extremes, and did not hear the screams and smell the fear of the animals ahead of them on the slaughter line.
Can you safely eat roadkill? ›Contrary to the jokes and stigma culture would have us believe, eating roadkill is completely safe with a basic knowledge of food safety, and can be a useful way to get valuable, wild harvested meat of higher quality than you can get at the store.
Who was the guy that ate an entire car? ›Some background: Michel Lotito was born in Grenoble, France, in 1950 and died in Grenoble, France, in 2007. In between, he earned numerous Guinness World Records for eating dozens of inedible things, including several vehicles in their entirety.
Can you eat roadkill deer UK? ›Though the origins of the practice are shrouded in mystery, eating roadkill has become firmly established in the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK. One of the joys of a roadkill diet is variety. Anyone willing to go on a roadside scavenge can have a host of species from which to pick.
What is the Netflix documentary about the dangers of eating meat? ›Watch The Game Changers | Netflix.
Is Roadkill on Netflix any good? ›Guardian Pick. Doncha just love these dramas involving power, politics, corruption & backstabbing; can't get enough of them - House of Cards, Borgen, West Wing, Succession, Billions to name but a few. Roadkill is stacking up well. Brilliant acting all round but a special plaudit for Helen McCrory at the top of her game ...
Where can I watch PBS Roadkill? ›Stream all four episodes of Roadkill with PBS Passport, an added member benefit. Subscribe to the MASTERPIECE email newsletter for more Roadkill content and breaking news about other MASTERPIECE shows you're sure to love!
Would vegans eat roadkill? ›Roadkill Is Vegan…
But based on the definition of what a vegan actually is, eating roadkill is not against vegan principles in our view. However, the fewer animals killed on roads the better.
What diseases do roadkill carry? ›
Chapman likens eating meat from roadkill to eating meat from hunting, with similar risks around diseases like brucellosis, which can cause fevers, sweating, body aches, and joint pain in humans, and trichinosis, which has symptoms ranging from diarrhea to pink eye.
Is PETA against eating animals? ›A hot topic in classrooms and on the minds of many people today is whether or not it's ethical to eat animals. Here at PETA, our core belief is that animals are not ours to use.
Why can't you eat a deer hit by a car? ›Normally, if a deer is hit by a car, several of the internal organs burst and the meat is quickly tainted. Rarely, a deer is hit in the head and the neck is broken. In those unusual circumstances, the meat is still edible and good, but like in the field, the deer must be quickly gutted, cooled, and hung up.
Can you eat deer that has been hit by a car? ›You're driving on a lonely, snow-covered road in the mountains, when disaster strikes. A deer scampers in front of your car, and you slam into it. Under a new California law, if you're enterprising enough, you can take that animal home, butcher it into free-range meat, and have venison for the rest of the year.
Why does roadkill bloat? ›When the weather is warm, roadkill flesh becomes a potential hotbed of microbes that could lead to illness. In fact, after an animal has been dead for some time you can see bloating because of all the microbes breeding and producing gasses in its gut, Meier said.
Who was the first person killed by a car? ›The first recorded automobile fatality occurred in a small town in the Irish Midlands in 1869. Mary Ward, a celebrated microscopist, artist, astronomer and naturalist, fell from a steam carriage and died after crush injuries from its heavy iron wheels.
Is there a guy who ate a plane? ›Piece by piece, Lotito ate an entire Cessna 150 airplane between 1978-80. A few years on, in Guinness Book of Records 1984, Lotito was noted to have consumed a supermarket trolley and seven TV sets, in addition to the bicycles and "low-calorie Cessna" he had previously been recognized for.
Who was the first person killed by car in us? ›Bliss. The death of Henry Hale Bliss (June 13, 1830 – September 14, 1899) was the first recorded instance of a person being killed in a motor vehicle collision in the United States.
How soon after killing a deer can you eat it? ›A Question of Time
If the air temperature is 50 degrees, we have three to six hours to recover a deer after it dies. If the temperature is higher, or the animal has elevated its temperature by running hard, then the safe time available for recovery is shorter.
In England, hunting rights were restricted in an effort to preserve property rights. As a result, the possession and sale of venison was tightly regulated under English law, although it is readily available commercially.
How long is roadkill good for? ›
(Anyone who finds an animal should notify officials first, to make sure of what the regulations are in your area around harvesting roadkill, or to see if it can be saved.) If it is safe and legal for you to eat, you will need to cook it within 12 hours so it doesn't begin to spoil.
What is the most moral meat to eat? ›Venison is perhaps the most ethical meat we can eat in Britain today. Actually, it might be the most ethical native protein available to us year round. The word "venison" comes from the Latin verb for hunting: venare.
Is it wrong to eat meat in the Bible? ›"Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Why are we told not to eat red meat? ›Eating too much red meat could be bad for your health
Sizzling steaks and juicy burgers are staples in many people's diets. But research has shown that regularly eating red meat and processed meat can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, especially colorectal cancer.
Political thriller Roadkill wraps up with a rushed, messy finale that sees Peter Laurence triumph, despite the best efforts of lawyers, journalists, and even some members of his own family and staff, because lol nothing matters.
What is the Roadkill rate? ›Roadkill was found to be the most common cause of death in almost a third (28%) of all populations studied—ahead of causes such as disease, hunting and predation by other animals. A further 30% and 32% of all populations, respectively, experienced road deaths as their second and third largest cause of death.
What is the car accident show on Netflix? ›Forced to continually relive the day she dies in a car crash, a privileged high schooler must unravel the cosmic mystery of her suddenly looping life. Watch all you want.
Is Roadkill on prime? ›Watch Roadkill | Prime Video.
How can I watch new episodes of Roadkill? ›Watch Roadkill | Prime Video.
How can I watch PBS series? ›Stream Shows on the PBS Video App
We currently support Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast, Android TV, Samsung TV (2017 and newer), and VIZIO SmartCast TV. We also support Apple iPhone and iPad, and Android mobile devices.
Can animals survive being vegan? ›
Vegan pet diets are simply unable to reliably provide the correct balance of bioavailable nutrients and protein to carbohydrate ratio needed to fulfill the unique and complicated requirements of animals optimized for a carnivorous lifestyle.
Can vegans survive without meat? ›Without meat and dairy, you still need to consume essential amino acids. Vegans can get protein from nuts, peanut butter, seeds, grains, and legumes. Non-animal products like tofu and soymilk also provide protein.
Do vegans claim humans are herbivores? ›Although many humans choose to eat both plants and meat, earning us the dubious title of “omnivore,” we're anatomically herbivorous. The good news is that if you want to eat like our ancestors, you still can: Nuts, vegetables, fruit, and legumes are the basis of a healthy vegan lifestyle.
What animal is most roadkill? ›In over 70 percent of the 50 states, the most commonly hit animal on the road is the deer. From some of the most isolated states, like Alaska, to some of the sandiest, like Florida, deer lead as the top victim of motorists more than any other animal.
What is the most common roadkill in the world? ›In Europe and North America, deer are the animal most likely to cause vehicle damage.
What wild animal carries the most diseases? ›Virus: Bats Are the Number-One Carriers of Disease | Time.
What did humans eat 10,000 years ago? ›Our ancestors in the palaeolithic period, which covers 2.5 million years ago to 12,000 years ago, are thought to have had a diet based on vegetables, fruit, nuts, roots and meat. Cereals, potatoes, bread and milk did not feature at all.
Can humans be healthy without meat? ›The health factor
It's rich in fiber, vitamins and other nutrients. And people who don't eat meat, called vegetarians, generally eat fewer calories and less fat. They also tend to weigh less. And they have a lower risk of heart disease than nonvegetarians do.
It was about 2.6 million years ago that meat first became a significant part of the pre-human diet, and if Australopithecus had had a forehead to slap it would surely have done so. Being an herbivore was easy—fruits and vegetables don't run away, after all.
What happens if you shoot a deer in the belly? ›However, if you should unintentionally paunch a deer, all is not lost. While deer can recover from some flesh and muscle wounds, a gut shot is always fatal, and death typically occurs within 12 hours. Furthermore, a gut-shot deer usually won't go far unless it is disturbed.
Does shooting a deer in the stomach ruin the meat? ›
Shots to the gut, spine, shoulder and hip areas tend to damage the most meat.
What to do if you shoot a deer in the stomach? ›A gut shot deer needs to be left alone to bed down and pass. If you push a gut shot deer it will run for miles and you most likely will never see it again. Provided you let the deer be, it will bed down after a short distance and decease.
Is it OK to let a deer sit overnight? ›If you wait too long to recover the deer, the blood will spoil and ruin the meat. The old bowhunters' rule is to wait eight to 12 hours before following a gut-shot deer. If you wait that long when it's 50 degrees or above, your intentions may be good, but there's a good chance you will lose that meat.
Can you take a deer home if you run it over? ›It is illegal to claim a deer carcass without a permit. If you do take the carcass, you must report the accident to the authorities. You can ask a law enforcement officer for a permit to keep a deer carcass. You can eat the deer yourself, or you can donate the meat to charity.
How do you know if roadkill is OK to eat? ›Avoid roadkill that has maggots, fly, or other scavenging insect infestations, as this indicates a lack of freshness. However, the presence of fleas is a good sign and means that the animal is probably still edible. If the animal's eyes are milky, clouded, or white, it is less fresh but may still be edible.
How long does it take for a dead deer to stop smelling? ›FAQ. How Long Does a Dead Animal Smell Last? Dead animal smell lasts from a few days to a few months, or as long as it takes for the animal to decompose fully. The flesh-decomposing microbes that do the work of breaking down the carcass produce the awful smell.
How long does roadkill take to decompose? ›The practice requires space to construct the compost piles and takes from four to six months for the animals to decompose and a year to make a useable end product. Many people are skeptical that road kill composting will manage road kill but become convinced when they see it working.
Which animal is suffering from bloat? ›Bloat is a digestive disorder that results from the accumulation of excessive gas within the rumen and can lead to death of the animal by asphyxiation. Gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are normal by-products produced during microbial fermentation of feed stuffs.
What is Roadkill about on Netflix? ›Politician Peter Laurence's private life is falling apart. Shamelessly untroubled by guilt or remorse, he seeks to further his own agenda whilst others plot to bring him down. Can he out-run his own secrets to win the ultimate prize?
Was Roadkill extra Cancelled? ›MotorTrend ceased publication of "extras" for all of their web shows at the end of 2020.
What is the documentary to eat less meat? ›
Meat Me Halfway's executive producer, Madelaine Petsch, approaches activism in a non-judgmental and non-confrontational way - which is precisely how the documentary comes across. Meat Me Halfway presents the facts and leaves you to make your own choices.
Is Roadkill renewed for Season 2? ›When will Roadkill series 2 be released? Given it's not been renewed at this stage, it would be impossible to predict when a new series would arrive, but given that the coronavirus pandemic has made producing TV shows a far more protracted process than usual, it's likely we'd still have quite a while to wait.
What happened in the final episode of Roadkill? › What does Roadkill mean slang? ›One that has failed or been defeated and is no longer worthy of consideration.
What does Steve Dulcich do for a living? ›I later began writing for Mopar Muscle, again becoming the Tech Editor. I have been published extensively and am among the most prolific tech writers in the industry. My articles are known for advanced tech, often getting into details not seen published anywhere else.
Who owns the dog on Roadkill? ›The best video dog ever was Bika, The Roadkill Dog, who starred in many episodes but has sadly passed away. No one will replace her, but you may have noticed a whole pack of dogs that show up in nearly every episode of Roadkill Garage. These less-vaunted mutts are part of Steve Dulcich's pet farm.
Why did Finnegan leave faster with Finnegan? ›From what I understand, David Freiburger said that Finnegan leaving FWF was due to Finnegan being really busy (his own channel, plus he's trying to compete in a drag boat championship this year) and choosing to just focus on Roadkill as far as the MTOD shows go.
Is it cheaper to not eat meat? ›Plant-based proteins offer many health benefits and can be less expensive than meat. One way to get these benefits is to choose a meatless meal once or twice a week. People decide to eat less meat for many reasons. You may want to cut out meat for health, ethical, religious, cultural or environmental reasons.
Is there a diet where you only eat meat? ›Carnivore diet plans may offer little guidance regarding calorie intake, serving sizes, or how many meals or snacks to eat per day. Most proponents of the diet suggest eating as often as you desire. Following the carnivore diet involves eating only meat, fish, and animal products, eliminating all other foods.
Is Roadkill just 4 episodes? ›Roadkill is a British four-part television thriller written and created by David Hare, and directed by Michael Keillor. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 October 2020.
Has the series Roadkill finished? ›
BBC drama Roadkill reached its conclusion on Sunday evening and while many were heaping praise on the acting performances, Hugh Laurie as Conservative MP Peter Laurence in particular, others were left disappointed with the story's ending.
Where can I watch Roadkill season 2? ›You are able to stream Roadkill by renting or purchasing on Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, iTunes, and Google Play.