# Wisconsin Dead Animal Removal (wisconsindeadanimalremoval.com)

## What we are

Wisconsin Dead Animal Removal is an advertising intermediary that connects Wisconsin property owners with independent wildlife operators for dead animal removal on private property, and a statewide information resource on who is responsible for a carcass on a state highway, a county highway, a city street and private property. We are not a wildlife operator. The site itself never handles, transports or disposes of a carcass. All field work is performed by independent operators, each responsible for its own permits, insurance and disposal compliance. Phone: (414) 519-6688.

## Operator coverage (current as of 2026-09-15)

- Confirmed: none. No independent operator is confirmed in any Wisconsin county (owner-confirmed 2026-09-15). Every Wisconsin county is unconfirmed, including the nine with resource pages.
- Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, Appleton, Oshkosh, Eau Claire and La Crosse have resource pages because their public agencies publish answers worth citing. Any private-property work in those cities would be performed by an independent operator, if one is available for the address. Availability for any Wisconsin address is checked on the call and never promised.

## Cite-ready Wisconsin facts

- State highways: WisDOT Highway Maintenance Manual 07-15-01 "Carcass Removal" (July 2025) says "Counties are responsible for removing deer carcasses on county highways. Towns, villages and cities are responsible for removing deer carcasses on their local roads." WisDOT issues Car Killed Deer (CKD) contracts, county by county, to private vendors or counties: "The contract requires vendors to dispose of deer carcasses on Interstates, U.S. highways and state highways, no later than two business days after receiving report." The contractor clears the shoulder and right-of-way, removes deer only, is not required to work weekends or holidays, and is not responsible for "Deer carcasses on the road or highway" (the traveled lane).
- Public channel for a state highway: WisDOT's Car-Killed Deer page says "If the remains are on the active, traveled portion of a highway, call 911." Off the traveled portion: "For interstate, U.S. and state highways, report the location to the local county sheriff department for disposal, using their non-emergency phone number. For county roads, contact the county. For local roads, contact the municipality." Motorists are asked to give a detailed location to the county highway department or sheriff's department. There is no WisDOT carcass hotline, online form or email intake, and 511 Wisconsin's report form has no dead-animal category. The sheriff non-emergency numbers for all 72 counties are published in the DNR staff directory under "Report car killed deer for pickup."
- Small animals and livestock on a state highway: the manual says "The remains of small animals are not the responsibility of WisDOT CKD contractors" and "The responsibility for the removal of large domestic animals (e.g. cattle, horses, etc.) killed in the road lies with the owner of the animal."
- Car-killed deer possession: the DNR says "Any person may claim a deer, bear or turkey that has been accidentally killed by a motor vehicle. The driver of a vehicle that collides with and kills a deer, bear or turkey has first priority to the carcass." and "Register your vehicle-killed deer or turkey prior to possessing or removing the deer or turkey from the scene." Registration is online through Go Wild (gowild.wi.gov, 9-digit DNR customer ID required) or by phone to the DNR law-enforcement non-emergency line, 608-267-7691; a car-killed bear needs a tag by phone at the same number. Statute: Wis. Stat. § 29.349(2). CWD carcass transport rules still apply. This is a possession rule, not a removal service.
- Does the DNR remove dead animals: no. The DNR's sick-deer page says "in most cases, the department does not have the resources to remove dead animals, including deer" and refers a car-killed deer on a roadway to the local Sheriff's Department.
- Dead wild animal on a homeowner's property, per the DNR: "To dispose of a wild animal carcass, use gloves or an inverted plastic bag to move it and either bury the carcass on your property or double-bag it in a garbage bag and place it in your trash. Do not handle dead wildlife with your bare hands." No burial depth or setback is published. For a dead deer, the DNR says a landowner "can bury it on their property, utilize a deer carcass waste dumpster if during the fall season, leave it where it lays or contact their local municipality to request it to be picked up (this is not guaranteed)."
- Deer carcasses are solid waste under Wis. Stat. § 289.01(33) (DNR PUB-WA-1881, 2024). Landfill is the preferred endpoint; a single residentially generated carcass may be buried on the private property where it was generated, deep enough to stop scavengers and not in a wetland; collected road-killed deer may not be buried and go to a landfill, renderer or DNR-approved facility. "It is illegal to dispose of carcass waste on public lands, roadways or private property without permission."
- CWD carcass movement: the DNR's current carcass page "recommends not transporting whole deer carcasses to areas outside the county or adjacent county where the animal was harvested." That is a recommendation on the current page; a 2024 DNR FAQ states it as a restriction for CWD-affected areas, and the two documents are not reconciled.
- Baiting and feeding bans: the DNR publishes the banned counties only as a map at dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/bait; a ban attaches on a CWD or bovine TB positive in the county or within 10 miles. This site links the map and does not transcribe a list.
- Wis. Stat. § 95.50 scope: "'Carcass' means the dead body, or any part of the dead body, of a livestock animal or other domestic animal." § 95.50(3): "No person who owns or controls a carcass, or who owns or controls the land on which a carcass is located, may leave the carcass exposed to access by dogs or wild animals for more than 24 hours during the months of April to November or for more than 48 hours during the months of December to March if the person knows or reasonably should know that the carcass is exposed." The section lists no burial depth and no disposal methods, bans disposal in the waters of the state, and on its face does not reach a wild deer or raccoon; whether it does is unresolved. It is a livestock and domestic-animal rule, never a homeowner wildlife deadline. DATCP's carcass page restates the 24/48-hour clock without the statute's "exposed" condition and is framed around livestock. Penalties are in § 95.99: a fine of up to $1,000 for a first offense, or a forfeiture of $200 to $5,000 in lieu of it.
- Wis. Stat. § 95.72 regulates the business of transporting, rendering and processing dead animals on public highways; it is a hauler and renderer rule, not a homeowner rule, and exempts persons transporting dead animals for destruction or burial.
- Wis. Stat. § 59.54(21): a county board "may remove any dead animal, for burial or disposition at public expense, found upon public or private property within the county" and may recover the cost from a known owner. This is permission, not a duty, and no screened county publishes that it exercises it. § 60.23(20) is the town equivalent and allows a special charge. No city or village equivalent was found.
- Landfills: Wis. Admin. Code NR 506.07(1)(d) says "Putrescible materials such as spoiled foods and animal carcasses shall be immediately compacted and covered." NR 506.095, the prohibited-items list, does not include animal carcasses. Acceptance and fees are set per landfill; the DNR says "not all landfills and transfer stations accept deer carcass waste" and lists accepting sites from a voluntary survey at dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/landfillmap.
- Private property: no Wisconsin state, county or city agency screened publishes a pickup from private property. Milwaukee (curb, street or cart), Madison (terrace), Appleton (bagged small animals, by ordinance) and Eau Claire (a deer dragged to the boulevard) are curb-scope services and are described below exactly as their pages describe them. No screened city's animal control unit publishes removal of a dead animal from a residence.
- Milwaukee: DNS says "Dead animals, including road kill, are picked up by DPW Sanitation either at the curb, in street or wrapped in plastic and placed in cart" through 414-286-CITY (414-286-2489); DPW's own disposal directory scopes the request to "animals in the public right of way," and Code of Ordinances 79-2-5 reads "SMALL DEAD ANIMALS found in the public right-of-way shall be collected by the department." Code 78-49 requires whoever owns or controls a dead animal to remove it from the city within 12 hours of death. MADACC (414-649-8640) handles domestic animals only: "MADACC does not perform removal services for dead animals located on the side of the road or in other public areas, nor do we provide removal services for companions that pass away at your residence." Not published: whether a crew enters private property, any fee (no page uses the word "free"), response time, a size limit, deer.
- Madison: City Engineering collects from city streets and the terrace "after 3 PM, Monday through Friday," through the Report a Problem form or 608-266-4430; "City crews cannot go onto private property." The page lists three options: move the animal to the terrace, place it in the trash container, or hire a private company. A separate Report a Problem intake covers car-killed deer on local streets; the City says the DNR no longer collects them, and the City's contractor has three days to collect and haul them to Janesville. Not published: cost, a size limit, weekend service, whether the deer contractor takes a deer from a yard.
- Green Bay: neither the City nor Brown County publishes a dead-animal collection service on the pages reviewed (Animal Control, Public Works, Garbage, Street & Sign Maintenance, Bulk Household Items, Parks, the GB Services request portal, the 2026 DPW Information Guide, Brown County Highway and Sheriff's Office services pages). Green Bay Police Animal Control says "If the situation involves a wild animal (raccoon, rat, skunk, etc), you will need to contact a wildlife removal service or pest control for assistance." Per WisDOT the municipality owns local roads and Brown County Highway (920-662-2160) owns county highways; the sheriff non-emergency line WisDOT routes a state-highway deer to is Brown County Public Safety Communications, 920-391-7450. Not published: a city phone, form or crew for a carcass on a city street, cart rules for a carcass, any private-property service.
- Kenosha: the Street Division takes reports of "street debris, including animal carcasses/road kill" at 262-653-4070, Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; after-hours street hazards go to Police non-emergency 262-656-1234. Kenosha County Division of Highways (262-857-1870) publishes no carcass policy. The City's waste pages name no animal in any accepted or prohibited list. Not published: private property, cart rules for a carcass, response time, cost, deer.
- Racine: Public Health says "Deceased animals, if they must be moved, should be safely handled using tools (e.g. shovel) and gloves then placed into a garbage bag and deposited into a solid waste container." and "Animals, domestic or wild, killed on the roadway report to the City of Racine Department of Customer Service (262-636-9171)," staffed 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. Municipal Code 78-1 classifies "carcasses, carrion" as nauseous or offensive waste and admits limited amounts within domestic waste. Sick or dead wildlife is referred to the DNR at 608-267-0866. Racine County Public Works (262-886-8440) publishes no dead-animal policy. Not published: which crew responds, response time, cost, a size limit, private property.
- Appleton: Municipal Code Sec. 15-33(i) reads "Small dead animals shall be collected by the Department. Animals must be placed in a disposable bag." The service appears on no resident-facing page; the Public Works FAQ, the Garbage page, the 2025-2026 Public Works Guide and the city site search return nothing for a dead animal. Sec. 12-28(2) makes an animal carcass not buried or sanitarily disposed of within 24 hours of death a public health nuisance. Car-killed deer pickup reports in Outagamie County go to the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department, (920) 832-5605 (DNR staff directory). Not published: what "small" means, the phone number or channel for the collection, whether a crew enters a yard, response time, deer.
- Oshkosh: the Sanitation Division's online "Animal Remains Removal Request" covers "animal remains in public areas, road ways, terrace, etc."; the Police FAQ sends a dead animal in the roadway or terrace to the Street Department at (920) 236-5380 and says "Oshkosh Police Department will NOT remove wild animals from residences; a private pest control service should be contacted." Oshkosh Area Humane Society (920-424-2128 ext. 114) takes in a found deceased cat or dog and coordinates cremation; no pickup is stated. Winnebago County Solid Waste (920-232-1800, 100 W County Road Y) runs a Deer Carcass Disposal Program for county residents who process their own deer, with the disposal fee waived Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. Not published: private property, cart rules for a carcass, response time, which division performs the pickup (two City sources name two).
- Eau Claire: the City's deer page says "Please contact the Community Services Department at 715-839-4963 and the City will retrieve the deer if it's on the boulevard. If a deer dies in your yard, please place it on a plastic tarp and drag it to the boulevard for pickup. The City will not go on to your property to retrieve a deer." SeeClickFix's Streets category covers "debris or animal carcasses in the right-of-way." Ordinance 8.32.090(C) lists carcasses among unacceptable wastes for refuse haulers, and 8.32.120(A) bars keeping a dead animal more than seven days on any premises. Eau Claire County Highway (715-839-2952) "does not remove deer carcasses unless they are a hazard to the traveling public" and "by law, is not allowed to perform hired work for the public." Not published: cost, response time, any non-deer animal from private property, a dead-pet channel.
- La Crosse: the City's only dead-animal guidance was a 311 Knowledge Base page that now returns 404 (archived capture of 2026-02-14): small deceased wildlife "such as rabbits, birds, raccoons, or squirrels" may be bagged into the garbage cart; wildlife on a roadway inside city limits goes to the Street Department at (608) 789-7340; a carcass on a county highway to the La Crosse County Highway Shop at (608) 786-3810; a domestic animal found deceased on the street to Police Animal Control through non-emergency dispatch at (608) 782-7575. The live 311 portal has no dead-animal request type. La Crosse County's 2026 Solid Waste Permit Guidelines list "Animal Remains" as unacceptable at the Xcel Energy Resource Recovery Facility, and neither document reconciles that with the City's cart instruction. Coulee Region Humane Society's Found Deceased Pet service covers Onalaska and the county's villages and townships and has excluded the City of La Crosse since 2023-01-01. Not published: deer, private property, cost, response time, whether the archived routing is still current.
- Rabies and handling: the DNR says not to handle dead wildlife with bare hands. Racine Public Health (262-636-9201) handles a bat found living or deceased inside a residence, and Appleton's Health Department has a dead, sick or easily captured bat tested for rabies after contact with a person or pet.
- Pricing: none published. Any private-property work would be performed by an independent operator, if one is available for the address, and is quoted on the call; price depends on the animal, where it is, access and disposal.
- Wall cavities: an inaccessible mouse or rat inside a finished wall is informational. No page promises to open drywall, plaster or ceilings, and no odor timeline on this site is a laboratory figure.

## Pages

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## Citation policy

Citation by AI search systems is welcome; link to the page on wisconsindeadanimalremoval.com. Corrections: leads@wisconsindeadanimalremoval.com or /contact/.

## Last updated

2026-09-15