Dead Animal Removal in Wisconsin: The Road Has Rules, Your Yard Does Not
WisDOT wrote a manual for the highway shoulder and the DNR wrote rules for the deer herd. Neither one covers the raccoon behind your garage. That part is yours to arrange, and this number reaches an independent operator if one is available for your address.
- 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
- β Wisconsin statewide Β· one number
Who picks up dead animals in Wisconsin?
Four answers, and the road class picks which one you get. On an Interstate, US or state highway, WisDOT's Highway Maintenance Manual 07-15-01 puts a car-killed deer contractor on the shoulder and right-of-way within two business days of the report, while a carcass in the traveled lane is a 911 call; WisDOT publishes no carcass hotline of its own and sends the off-lane report to the county sheriff's non-emergency line. The same manual settles the rest in two sentences: "Counties are responsible for removing deer carcasses on county highways. Towns, villages and cities are responsible for removing deer carcasses on their local roads." Past the terrace and the curb the published answers run out. DNR tells a landowner to bury the animal or double-bag it into the trash, no Wisconsin statute hands a wild animal in a yard to any agency, and Wisconsin Dead Animal Removal exists for that last case: an independent operator, if one is available for the address. Call (414) 928-2653.
Road class first, property line second
Ask the wrong office and you get a redirect, not a pickup. Four rows cover almost every call, and each agency's own wording sits on the pages linked underneath.
| Where the animal is | Whose job it is | The published basis | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate, US or WIS highway (the state system) | WisDOT's car-killed deer contractor on the shoulder and right-of-way; 911 for a carcass in the lane | Highway Maintenance Manual 07-15-01: deer cleared "no later than two business days after receiving report"; no WisDOT hotline is published, and off-lane reports go to the county sheriff's non-emergency line | Nothing; tax-funded |
| County trunk highway (a lettered route) | The county highway department | WisDOT: "Counties are responsible for removing deer carcasses on county highways" | No fee published; not every county removes one |
| City street | The city, under its own policy | Milwaukee (414) 286-CITY; Madison Report a Problem or 608-266-4430; Kenosha Street Division 262-653-4070; Racine Customer Service 262-636-9171; each city page quotes its own | City service, as published; no city page reviewed says free |
| Your yard, driveway, deck, attic, crawl space | The property owner | No Wisconsin statute assigns it to an agency; Β§ 95.50 covers livestock and domestic animals; DNR: bury or double-bag; Β§ 59.54(21) lets a county remove, and none we screened does | Quoted on the call by an independent operator, if one is available |
Dead animal removal cost in Wisconsin: quoted on the call, never on this page
No operator's rate in this state has been verified here, and a range printed on a page is a promise the person who shows up never made. The number comes from four things, and you can describe all four over the phone.
| Situation | Where | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Small animal outdoors | Lawn, driveway, under a deck, the terrace strip out front | Weight, how close a vehicle can get, where it goes afterward |
| Small animal indoors | Attic, soffit, chimney chase, a void someone can reach into | Tight-space work, soaked insulation and nesting to clear, the way in |
| Under a structure | Crawl space, under a porch, under a garden shed | Crawl height, whether an arm or a pole gets to it, the disposal run |
| Deer | Back lot, driveway, woodlot edge, the line of a field | Weight, terrain, vehicle access, and the disposal run, on which DNR recommends a whole carcass stay within the county or one adjacent to it |
| Smell with no visible source | Attic, crawl space, chimney, a wall cavity | The search itself. Finished walls are not opened |
- Quoted on the call
- Nothing billed by this site
- Before anyone drives out
- Independent operators
The order a call to Wisconsin Dead Animal Removal runs in
Not every one of these eight gets used. Where the animal is lying can close the call at the first.
- Where it is lying. That is the first thing asked on (414) 928-2653, and for good reason. A state highway shoulder, a lettered county trunk and a city street each belong to an agency, so the call finishes with that agency and no quote is taken.
- ZIP check. On private property, your ZIP goes against the operator list for this network. Nobody's coverage is confirmed in this state yet, so that is what you are told on the call. No crew is promised and no arrival time is given.
- Describe the job. Species if you know it, rough size if you do not. How close a person could get without moving anything, and whether anyone or any pet has already had contact.
- Scope check. A skunk under a slab, a deer inside a fenced yard, an attic with no walkboards: not every operator takes every one of those. That gets settled with the person who would come out, never by a claim on this page.
- The price, up front. What the animal is, where it lies, how close anyone can get to it and where it may legally go: those four answers make the price, and the operator names it before anyone sets out.
- Recovery. The carcass goes into a bag on site. Gloves are the rule for raccoon, skunk, bat and fox, the species most often tied to rabies in this region. Nothing finished gets cut open to reach it.
- Disposal. The carcass leaves with the operator, under whatever rule covers that species in that county. For deer, DNR's chronic wasting disease advice on moving a whole carcass is part of that.
- Payment. The invoice is the operator's, raised when the work is done. Nothing on this side of the call ever charges a homeowner.
The three that get a page of their own
Deer, raccoon and skunk get a page each. Every one of them carries the road-class answer, what an operator needs to hear from you, and the handling rule where DNR sets one. A squirrel in a soffit or an opossum under a deck is easier to find by place, so those sit on the situation pages below.
Dead Deer Removal
Two things set the deer apart. It is the only carcass in this state with a written state program behind it, and for most homeowners it is far heavier than anything else they will ever have to get moved. That program stops at the highway right-of-way. Past that line, where the deer fell is what sorts it into a sheriff's call, a county call, a city call or an operator's quote.
Read the page β
Dead Raccoon Removal
Older neighborhoods give a raccoon plenty of places to den, Milwaukee's north side and Madison's east side included, and a den is usually where one dies. Two things decide the outcome: rabies-vector handling, which applies before anything gets lifted, and the spot, since a street or terrace can be a city job, a bagged small carcass can sometimes go in the cart, and under a deck or inside a chimney it is an operator's quote.
Read the page β
Dead Skunk Removal
Skunk carcasses turn up in the same places every year, under porches, sheds and decks and along road edges, most often when the animals move in spring. The smell is what gets people to the phone. How it should be handled is decided by the rabies risk instead, which means gloves and a bag, and nobody's bare hands on it.
Read the page βStart from the place, not the animal
Plenty of these calls begin with a smell in one room and nothing visible anywhere. Pick by where it is instead: out on the lot, inside a wall, or the cost question that sits behind both.
Dead Animal in Yard Removal
Once it is past the sidewalk line, no agency we reviewed publishes a pickup, and several cities put that in writing. A small carcass, bagged, may be allowed in the cart depending on the city. A deer, or anything out of reach, needs an operator, and the number comes back on the call.
Read the page βDead Animal in Wall Removal
Worth reading before you call anyone. The phrase covers two problems, and a removal can honestly be sold for only one of them. Which one you have decides everything after that, and through a Wisconsin winter the other runs on a clock of its own.
Read the page βDead Animal Removal Cost
This page does not hand you a number. It sets out what drives one, which situations an agency already covers so that nobody should be quoting you at all, and why a printed range here would only be a guess. The dollar figures Wisconsin does publish around this subject are statutory penalties, landfill tipping fees and shelter cremation charges, and not one of them is the cost of having an animal taken away.
Read the page βWhat does not change from call to call
Priced on the line
Nobody prices this from a photo or a page. The number is built from what you describe while you are on the line.
Jurisdiction before anything else
On a public road, what you get is the office that maintains that road, or 911 if it is in the traveled portion of a highway. The call ends there, and it is supposed to.
The work is somebody else's
An independent operator takes the job on their own account, with their own insurance, permits and disposal route. This site carries advertising and puts the call through. It checks nobody's paperwork, and says so rather than letting you assume otherwise.
No county claimed as covered
Not one operator's coverage is confirmed anywhere in the state today. Whether anyone can take your address is a question for the call, and the answer may be no.
Every claim names its source
The manual, the ordinance or the agency page a statement comes from is named beside it, so you can open it and check the wording yourself.
No saw goes into a finished wall
Reached from the attic above or the basement below, a carcass in a stud bay is a job. Sealed behind finished drywall it is a timeline, and a cold exterior wall in February can stretch that. You hear which one you have.
A reference for the state, with one line attached to it.
A raccoon dead under a deck, a deer down along a fence line, a smell working through an upstairs ceiling: no state agency stands behind any of those. Knowing it for certain saves a morning of being transferred, and the number below is what is left after that.
Wisconsin Dead Animal Removal sells advertising and routes calls. It removes nothing. The operator who takes a job does so on their own account, and the permits, the disposal route and the rabies-vector handling ride with them.
Which animal, and when it turns up
| Species | Peak season | Typical place | Rabies vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raccoon | Spring denning; late summer dispersal | Attic, chimney, garage, the space under a deck | Yes |
| White-tailed deer | October to December rut; the gun deer season in late November | Road edge, driveway, wooded lot, the edge of a marsh or parkway | No |
| Squirrel | Fall; late winter | Attic, soffit, wall void | No |
| Opossum | Year-round | Under a deck, crawl space | Rarely |
| Skunk | Spring and early summer | Under a porch, under a shed, the road edge | Yes |
| Bat | Late summer | Attic, chimney, inside a room | Yes |
Nine cities, and what each one puts in writing
No two of them answer this the same way. Each page quotes whatever that city actually publishes, down to Green Bay, where nothing on the subject turned up on any city or county page we read. None is claimed as operator territory today.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee publishes a curb-scope service, not a private-property one. The Department of Neighborhood Services 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', reported through the Unified Call Center at (414) 286-CITY (2489). DPW Sanitation's own Recycling Directory narrows that to 'animals in the public right of way', and city code section 79-2-5 requires the department to collect small dead animals found in the public right-of-way. Whether it is free is not published. The word free appears on none of the city pages reviewed, no fee is stated either, and chapter 79 lets the commissioner collect offensive waste such as carcasses without charge, refuse it, or collect it for a charge. MADACC handles domestic animals only and removes no dead animals. WisDOT's contractor clears deer from Interstate, US and state highway shoulders in Milwaukee County; county trunk highways are the county's, and Milwaukee County publishes no dead-animal service on the pages reviewed. A carcass on private property, in a yard, under a deck or inside a structure, is the owner's to arrange, and any private-property work in Milwaukee would be performed by an independent operator, if one is available for the address.
Milwaukee β Resource pageMadison, WI
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.
Madison β Resource pageGreen Bay, WI
No Green Bay or Brown County page publishes a dead-animal pickup, free or paid, for any property class. On September 15, 2026 we reviewed the city's Animal Control, Public Works, Garbage, Street & Sign Maintenance, Bulk Household Items, Public Works FAQs and Parks pages, the GB Services request portal (17 categories, none for a dead animal) and the 2026 DPW Information Guide, plus the Brown County Highway, Sheriff and Resource Recovery pages, and found no service, no fee and no curb rule. What is published is the road split for deer carcasses in WisDOT's Highway Maintenance Manual 07-15-01: city streets are the city's, county trunk highways are the county's, and Interstates, US and state highways are cleared on the shoulder by WisDOT's Car-Killed Deer contractor. Green Bay Animal Control refers wild-animal callers to a wildlife removal service or pest control, and the DNR says a municipal pickup request for a dead deer on private land is not guaranteed. A carcass on private property is the owner's to arrange, and any private-property work would be performed by an independent operator, if one is available for the address.
Green Bay β Resource pageKenosha, WI
Kenosha publishes one dead-animal service, and it is a street service. The Public Works Street Division takes reports of animal carcasses and road kill as street debris at 262-653-4070, weekdays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and its page names no charge. Nothing on the Transportation page, the Waste & Recycling Collection and Drop Off pages, Kenosha Police Department Policy 3.1, or Kenosha County's Highways, Public Works and FAQ pages covers a carcass on private property, so a yard, deck or garage job is the owner's to arrange. Whether that costs anything depends on whether the owner does it (DNR's bury-or-double-bag route) or hires an independent operator, whose price is quoted on the call.
Kenosha β Resource pageRacine, WI
Racine publishes one removal referral and it stops at the roadway: the Public Health Department's animals page sends an animal "domestic or wild, killed on the roadway" to City Customer Service at (262) 636-9171, weekdays 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and no page says whether that pickup is free or which crew does it. For a carcass anywhere else the same page tells the resident to handle it with a shovel and gloves, bag it and put it in the solid waste container. Racine County Public Works publishes no dead-animal policy at all, DNR says it does not have the resources to remove dead animals, and WisDOT's contractor takes deer on state highway shoulders only. Nothing published covers a yard, deck, crawl space or wall, so that job is the owner's to arrange, and an independent operator would do it, if one is available for the address.
Racine β Resource pageAppleton, WI
Appleton's only dead-animal service sits in the municipal code, not on a web page. Sec. 15-33(i) commits the Department of Public Works to collect 'small dead animals' that the resident has already 'placed in a disposable bag,' inside the weekly curbside collection article, and the cost of that collection is billed to the property as a solid waste special charge under Sec. 15-37, and the code states no separate charge for a bagged animal. Nothing repeats the service on the Public Works FAQ, the Garbage page, the 2025-2026 Public Works Guide, the Public Works concern form or the city site search for 'dead animal.' Sec. 12-28(2) makes a carcass not buried or otherwise sanitarily disposed of within 24 hours a public health nuisance. WisDOT's contractor takes deer on the shoulders of I-41, US 10, WIS 441 and the other state highways once the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department has the report; the county owns its lettered trunk highways; city streets are Appleton's with no published channel. Nothing published covers a deer, an animal too large to bag, or a carcass under a deck, in a wall or in an attic; that work would be performed by an independent operator, if one is available for the address.
Appleton β Resource pageOshkosh, WI
Oshkosh publishes one dead-animal service and it stops at the terrace. The Sanitation Division's Animal Remains Removal Request covers 'animal remains in public areas, road ways, terrace, etc.', and the police FAQ sends a dead animal in the roadway or terrace to the Street Department at (920) 236-5380. Neither page states a fee, so the service is listed here as a city service rather than a free one. No city, county or humane-society page covers a carcass on private property, and the police page says the department will not remove wild animals from residences, so a yard, deck or wall job is the owner's to arrange.
Oshkosh β Resource pageEau Claire, WI
Eau Claire publishes exactly one private-property answer and it is for deer: call Community Services at 715-839-4963 and the City retrieves the deer if it is on the boulevard; a deer that dies in the yard goes on a plastic tarp and is dragged to the boulevard, because the City will not go onto the property. The page never says whether that pickup is free, and it covers no other species. A carcass in a street or the right-of-way is a SeeClickFix Streets request. For a dead raccoon, skunk, squirrel or pet on private property, the city, the county and ECCHA publish nothing on the pages reviewed (Animal Control and its nine FAQs, Street | Fleet, Community Services, Trash Hauling, SeeClickFix, Parks & Trails, the full city FAQ base, the Title 6, 8 and 13 ordinances, the County Highway page and FAQs, County Solid Waste, and all 37 eccha.org pages), so that job is the owner's to arrange.
Eau Claire β Resource pageLa Crosse, WI
La Crosse publishes no dead-animal pickup for private property, free or paid, and the word 'free' appears on none of the pages reviewed. The City's only instruction is an archived 311 Knowledge Base entry (the live page returned a 404 on September 15, 2026): small deceased wildlife is bagged into the resident's own garbage cart, wildlife on a city roadway is reported to the Street Department at (608) 789-7340, a carcass on a county highway goes to the County Highway Shop at (608) 786-3810, and a dog or cat found deceased on the street goes to Police Animal Control through dispatch at (608) 782-7575. The live pages reviewed, the 311 Report an Issue catalog, the Street Department Operations page, both Police Animal Control pages, the Refuse and Recycling Garbage Collection page, the City Sitemap, the La Crosse County Highway page and the County Solid Waste pages, carry no dead-animal service at all. On Interstates, US and state highways WisDOT's Car-Killed Deer contractor clears deer from the shoulder as a state service. A carcass in a yard, under a deck or inside a building is the property owner's to arrange, and an independent operator would do that work if one is available for the address.
La Crosse βWhat people ask on the first call
Who actually shows up if I call this number?
Is an operator covering my county right now?
How do I tell whether this one is mine to deal with?
Can I get a ballpark figure before I call?
Something dead on ground you own?
Call (414) 928-2653. The first question is whether an agency already owns it. If it is yours, the next two, whether an operator can take your address and what it would cost, are settled on the same call.
Five answers the state leaves scattered
Who picks up dead animals in Wisconsin?
WisDOT's carcass manual, the county and municipal split, 911 versus the sheriff, and nine cities' own wording.
Read the guide β The 24-hour mythHow to dispose of a dead animal in Wisconsin
What Β§ 95.50 actually covers, what DNR says a homeowner may do, and what your city allows in the cart.
What the cart takes β DeerDead deer: road, yard, car-killed deer and CWD
Who clears the highway, who may keep a car-killed deer and how to register it first, and what DNR recommends for the carcass.
Road, yard and CWD β PetsA dog or a cat, city by city
Your own pet or an unknown animal, city by city, and what the livestock statute does and does not say about a pet.
Dog or cat β SmellA smell and nothing to see
Where the search starts in an older house here, what is reachable and what is sealed, and the part no one can put a date on.
Find the source β