Don Swope, an independent contractor hired by PennDOT to remove road-killed deer, works near the Route 422-Benbrook Road intersection in Butler Township. He says I-79, with its heavy and fast-moving traffic, presents special challenges.

Come November, the county's roads will be covered in bright autumn leaves. They also will be the place where hundreds of deer will meet their end. Contractors like Don Swope will be hot on their trail.

Swope is among a group of independent deer removal contractors hired each year by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to keep state roads clear of deer carcasses. For three years, Swope of Cherry Township has won the Butler County bid.

Bob Skrak, PennDOT's maintenance supervisor, said that PennDOT's goal is to have each deer off the roadside within 24 hours of being hit.

"Anybody who does this job has to have a strong stomach,"Skrak said. "They smell pretty horrible in the summer."

Swope said, "I got an iron stomach ... you need that."

To hoist the carcass into the truck bed, Swope typically places chains from a winch around the hooves and pulls it into the truck bed that is coated with fur.

Swope said his busiest outing was a spring day when he hauled 33 deer.

Carcasses are taken to landfills, typically the Waste Management landfill near West Sunbury. Swope always calls ahead to allow workers to dig a special hole for his load.

<table width="300" height="275" border="0" align="right" valign="top" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><embed src="/assets/mov/BE54216830.MOV " width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" ></embed></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/" target="_blank"><span class="style11">Requires Quicktime Media Player </a><br><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Times New Roman">Video by Brandon Gerthoffer</font></span><td></tr></table>PennDOT's contractor also removes deer carcasses from Interstate 79."I-79 is nasty," Swope said. He waits out traffic surges and, during a gap in cars, goes out onto the highway to clean what he can."There's always something to scrape,"he said. "You have to be prepared for anything."For safety on the roads, Swope uses a rotating amber beacon light and a reflective sign on his truck. He wears a hard hat, orange safety vest and gloves, but said sometimes he can't avoid getting his shoes dirty."If you're careful, you don't get covered with goo," he said.To get rid of the smell on his shoes, he mixes dishwashing detergent, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda and sprays it on the shoes. The same concoction works for skunk spray, he said.Slain deer are typically reported to PennDOT and sometimes to 911 in road hazard cases. PennDOT then faxes each deer's location to Swope, who plans his daily route."In the fall, Butler County is a full-time job,"Skrak said. "It has just the right mix of traffic and deer."Skrak said that many times along a planned route, the contractor will find another hit deer and call it in to the office.After picking up carcasses for awhile, the contractors eventually know where the deer runs are and know where to expect to find carcasses."It's funny how they know where the deer are," he said.