Page 13 - IAV Digital Magazine #537

‘Professional Cavewoman’ Survives On ‘Freezer Full Of Roadkill’
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This UK woman is livin’ like it’s the Paleolithic era. Sarah Day, 34, has deemed her- self a “profession- al cavewoman” who survives on roadkill, including repurposing the skin and bones of the dead animals.
The Colchester, Essex, resident said she makes her money as a schoolteacher who educates children on histo- ry — and survival skills.
Day claimed she eats “roadkill at least once a week, although there isn’t always an animal on the side of the road,” she told Mercury Press.
“My freezer is full of roadkill finds, which is handy during the winter
because I can defrost the deer or rabbit to make a hearty stew,” she continued, adding that the flavor of rats is “very similar to squirrel — it is mild and sweet. It tastes a little bit like chicken, but much nicer.”
Pigeon, on the other hand, reportedly tastes “like a really good beef steak.” Besides just munching on the delicious animal carcasses, Day also likes to turn the skin and guts into leather. The animal skulls are “amazing bits of engineering,” while the bones are used to make tools and weapons.
“I don’t see any harm in [picking up roadkill]
because the ani- mal has died any- way, rather than it get skinned in any other way,” she rationalized.
But, sometimes, roadkill may be “too damaged” to eat and Day must find her animal protein in the raw meat aisle of her
local supermar- ket.
In order to get her daily dose of fiber, Day hunts for her own herbs and fruit too. “I tend to forage plants and fruit, but it is so impor- tant to do your research so that you don’t end up very sick,” she said.
She also likes to evaluate how cer- tain plants can be used for their medicinal proper- ties instead of going to a doctor.
Willow bark, she claimed, can be used to make tea for headaches. She believes that savory herbs such as rose- mary, sage and thyme can help with a cough.
She also offered
that cramp bark — a flowering shrub — “is also amazing for peri- od pains. I didn’t want to believe it would work, but it really does!” she exclaimed.
As for her actual living conditions, Day said she has a house “in the middle of town”; however, she would “rather live in a tent.” She reportedly even made her own sleeping bag out of reindeer skin to keep warm at night, as well as “a selection of clothes from road- kill” that she sup- posedly wears for work.
“It is all about working smart. The more you practice, the bet- ter you become,” she concluded.
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