Dead Animal Removal in Madison, WI
Who handles a dead animal in Madison and Dane County, quoted from the agency's own page: a city street, a state highway, and the private-property case that is yours to arrange.
- Phone first
- Nothing is priced on this site
- Your ZIP decides
- Who, if anyone, can take it on
- Quoted on the call
- Once the job is known
- ✓ Wisconsin statewide · one number
Who do I call for a dead animal in Madison, WI?
What decides it is the road the animal is lying on, or the fact that it is not lying on one. On a public street, City of Madison Engineering Division (Dead Animal Collection) is the published contact: 608-266-4430. On an Interstate, US or state highway, WisDOT's car-killed deer contractor clears the shoulder; a carcass in the travel lane is a 911 call. On a county trunk highway it is the county highway department's. On private property, a yard, attic, deck or crawl space, it is the owner's to arrange; none of the Madison pages we reviewed offers collection from private property. For private property in Madison, Wisconsin Dead Animal Removal can talk through the situation and check whether an independent operator is available for a Dane County address: call (414) 928-2653. Nothing here guarantees availability, and any price is quoted on that call.
Is dead animal removal free in Madison?
Madison publishes no price for its pickup and no private-property service. City of Madison Engineering will pick up a dead animal from a city street or from the terrace in front of your property after 3 PM on weekdays, reported through Report a Problem or 608-266-4430, but its page never uses the word free and names no price. The same page says City crews cannot go onto private property and lists hiring a private company as one of three options, alongside moving the animal to the terrace or placing it in your trash container. Car-killed deer on local streets go to a separate City form and a WDNR contractor with a three-day window. Interstates, US and state highways in Dane County are WisDOT's car-killed-deer contractor, reported through 911 in the lane or the Dane County Sheriff otherwise, and the Dane County Highway and Transportation site publishes nothing about dead animals at all. A carcass in a yard, under a deck or in an attic is the owner's to arrange, and an independent operator would do that work if one is available for the address. Anything on private property is the owner's responsibility; whether an independent operator is available for a Dane County address is decided on the call.
| Where the animal is | Who is responsible | Phone | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public street or city property | City of Madison Engineering Division (Dead Animal Collection) | 608-266-4430 | City service |
| Interstate, US or state highway | Wisconsin Department of Transportation (Car-Killed Deer contract, Highway Maintenance Manual 07-15-01) | 911 in the lane; county highway department or sheriff otherwise (no WisDOT hotline) | State service |
| County trunk highway | Dane County Highway and Transportation Department | See page | Not published |
| Private property: yard, deck, attic, crawl space | The owner arranges it; an independent operator if one is available for the address | (414) 928-2653 | Depends on operator availability; quoted on the call |
“Keep in mind that City crews cannot go onto private property. Your private property usually extends one foot from the property line, which is typically marked by the sidewalk.”
“City crews will come to pick up dead animals after 3 PM, Monday through Friday.”
“Hire a private company to remove and dispose of the animal from your property.”
“The City has contracted with the WDNR's contractor to provide this service. The contractor has 3 days from notification to collect and transport car killed deer to Janesville.”
“They can no longer respond to calls for service involving wildlife due to an ever-growing demand in all Animal Service areas and budget/staffing limitations.”
“Landowners who are looking to dispose of a dead deer on their property 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).”
Quoted verbatim on 2026-09-15 from cityofmadison.com Engineering 'Dead Animal Collection' page, the Report a Problem Dead Animal Collection and Animal Collection (Deer Killed by Car) forms, the Streets & Urban Forestry Trash Guidelines page, publichealthmdc.com 'How to Handle Wildlife and Pests' and 'Get Help with Animals', highway.danecounty.gov, the Dane County Landfill and Clean Sweep pages, WisDOT Highway Maintenance Manual 07-15-01 (July 2025) and the Car-Killed Deer page, and DNR's carcass and sick-or-dead-deer pages.
What the pages do not say: Whether the City's terrace and street pickup is free or billed (the page never uses the word free and names no price); response time beyond 'after 3 PM, Monday through Friday'; weekend or holiday service; a size, weight or species limit for the terrace or the trash cart (the Streets Trash Guidelines page does not mention animals, and the Recyclopedia PDF could not be opened); whether the City's contracted deer service takes a deer from a yard or one that did not die on a road; whether that contractor also covers state-highway segments inside the city limits; the Dane County Landfill fee and household eligibility for an animal carcass under its Special Waste form; who the intake is for a carcass on a Dane County trunk highway; whether an independent operator currently covers Dane County through this site.
Who not to call: Public Health Madison & Dane County Animal Services (608-255-2345 urgent line, 608-267-1989 office) for a dead animal; its page says officers "can no longer respond to calls for service involving wildlife" and sends a dead animal on your property to the City Engineering form; Wisconsin DNR for pickup; its sick-or-dead-deer page says "in most cases, the department does not have the resources to remove dead animals, including deer"; 511 Wisconsin or a WisDOT region office for a carcass; no WisDOT hotline exists and the 511 report form has no dead-animal category; Dane County Humane Society (608-838-0413 ext. 100) expecting a home pickup of a deceased pet; its page offers cremation by appointment with the owner bringing the animal in and publishes no pickup.
For a sick, injured or orphaned wild animal, Public Health Madison & Dane County lists the Dane County Humane Society Wildlife Center at 608-287-3235 and Wisconsin WildCare at 608-237-7060. For healthy wildlife on your property, the same PHMDC page says "Please call a private pest control service."
For the statewide version of this breakdown, see our guide to who picks up dead animals in Wisconsin.
Why Madison gets the dead-animal calls it does
Madison sits on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, with the Capitol and the UW campus in the middle and the Yahara River threading the lakes together. The Near East Side (Tenney-Lapham, Marquette, Atwood) and the Near West Side (Vilas, Dudgeon-Monroe, Regent) are houses from the 1900s to the 1920s with open porches, stone foundations and detached garages, which is where a raccoon, skunk or squirrel is most likely to die under a porch or in a garage. The postwar ranches of Nakoma, Westmorland and Midvale Heights back onto the UW Arboretum and Lake Wingra. Deer pressure comes from the green edges: the Arboretum and Lake Wingra on the near west side, Cherokee Marsh and Token Creek on the north side, Elver Park and the Ice Age Trail land on the far west, Nine Springs and the Capital Springs corridor on the south, all cut by the Beltline (US 12/18), I-39/90/94 on the east side, US 151 and Stoughton Road (US 51). The October to December rut puts deer on those roads, and the late March thaw uncovers winter-killed deer and roadkill in the snowbanks along the lake roads.
Madison publishes the boundary in its own words. City of Madison Engineering says "City crews will come to pick up dead animals after 3 PM, Monday through Friday," reported through the Report a Problem tool or by calling 608-266-4430, and adds "Keep in mind that City crews cannot go onto private property." Its three removal options are to move the animal to the terrace in front of your property so Engineering can pick it up, to place it in your trash container for regular trash collection, or to hire a private company to remove and dispose of the animal from your property. Car-killed deer on local streets go through a separate Report a Problem form: the City says it has contracted with the WDNR's contractor, which "has 3 days from notification to collect and transport car killed deer to Janesville." Public Health Madison & Dane County Animal Services says its officers "can no longer respond to calls for service involving wildlife" and sends a dead animal on your property back to the City Engineering form. Whatever the crews cannot reach falls back on the owner, who would be buying that recovery from an independent operator. No page can say whether one is taking work at a given address today.
Communities around Madison: Tenney-Lapham, Marquette, Atwood, Vilas, Dudgeon-Monroe, Regent, University Heights, Nakoma, Westmorland, Midvale Heights, Hill Farms, Eken Park, Shorewood Hills, Maple Bluff, Monona, Fitchburg, Middleton, Sun Prairie.
Any private-property work in Madison would be done by an independent operator, if one is available for the address, and disposal is that operator's to arrange under the rule covering that species in that county. DNR's guidance for handling dead wildlife is gloves or an inverted bag, never bare hands. A raccoon, skunk, bat or fox that a person or pet has been in contact with is a question for the local health department.
What do people call about in Madison?
The animals a Madison homeowner is most likely to find are raccoon and skunk under the porches and detached garages of the Near East Side (Tenney-Lapham, Marquette, Atwood) and the Vilas and Dudgeon-Monroe streets near Lake Wingra; squirrel in the attics of the older west-side houses in Regent and University Heights; opossum under decks in Nakoma and Westmorland; deer along the Beltline, I-39/90 and Stoughton Road edges near the Arboretum, Cherokee Marsh, Elver Park and Token Creek, most often during the October to December rut. Found one in a Madison yard? Start here. Odor, nothing in sight? The five places to check first.
What does dead animal removal cost in Madison?
Madison publishes no price on either side of the property line. Engineering collects from the terrace and never says at what cost, and the county landfill routes an animal carcass through a special-waste form that carries no published fee either. Past the property line, which the city puts about a foot back from the sidewalk, the number comes from whoever does the work, on the call, once they have heard what died, where it settled and how it has to come out. A squirrel in a Regent attic and a deer on a lot backing onto Cherokee Marsh will not carry the same number. Neither is printed here.
Nearby Wisconsin pages
The closest metros to Madison with their own pages, each with what that city publishes, the road split and the species people report.
Madison dead animal questions
Is dead animal removal free in Madison?
Engineering or Animal Services: which one comes for a dead animal in a Madison street?
My property line is a foot past the sidewalk. What does that mean for a dead raccoon in the yard?
Who handles a dead deer in Madison?
Engineering says to put the animal in the trash container. Do the cart rules back that up?
Can this site put anyone on a Madison address?
Madison Dead Animal Removal
Call to discuss the situation. Availability for a Dane County address depends on current operator coverage; any price is quoted on the call.