Georgia Dead Animal Laws: What the Code and Agencies Actually Say

Law: O.C.G.A. 4-5-1 to 4-5-11. The Act, the source of the often-quoted 24-hour and 3-foot burial rules, defines "dead animals" as livestock; animals tied to pet dealers, kennels, animal shelters and bird dealers that the Department of Agriculture licenses; animals processed by commercial facilities for human consumption; and animals associated with wildlife exhibitions (4-5-2). A wild animal that dies on your property is not on that list.

For animals inside the definition, the Act requires disposal by burning, incineration, burial, rendering or another approved method within 24 hours after death or discovery, with burial at least three feet below ground and at least three feet of earth over the carcass (4-5-5). Its duty not to abandon a dead animal binds a person "who owns or is caring for" the animal (4-5-3(a)). Regulation: the Department of Agriculture's rule (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 40-13-5, Cornell LII copy) repeats the definition (adding stables) and sets its own burial depths and setbacks, for those animals only.

Regulation: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-2-.19 (Cornell LII copy), effective June 25, 2025, makes it unlawful for any person or taxidermist to dispose of a deer carcass or part anywhere other than "the property on which the deer was killed" unless an approved method is used. The approved methods include a commercial deer processor, a permitted solid waste landfill, burial, incineration, rendering or composting. Agency guidance: DNR calls proper disposal "now required across all of Georgia."

Law: O.C.G.A. 27-5-2.1(c) (Animal Legal and Historical Center copy, last checked there August 2026) makes it unlawful to import or possess a whole cervid carcass or carcass part from outside Georgia, except boned-out meat or products thereof; antlers, skulls, skull plates, teeth or jawbones with no soft tissue attached; hides with no heads attached; and finished taxidermy mounts. Subsection (d) gives DNR authority to restrict moving cervid carcasses within the state once CWD is detected. DNR says CWD was first discovered in Georgia in January 2025, that its CWD Management Area is Atkinson, Lanier, Berrien and Lowndes counties, and that it has no proposed regulation changes for that area (all as of 1 October 2026); check DNR's CWD page for the current list.

Law: O.C.G.A. 4-5-4(b) (Department of Agriculture's hosted Lexis copy, current through the 2022 session) gives GDOT a duty to remove and dispose of dead animals found within the rights of way of highways maintained wholly or partly with state funds. County roads and city streets are local; who picks up dead animals lists the county and city channels.

Law: O.C.G.A. 27-3-28 lets any person lawfully possess native wildlife accidentally killed by a motor vehicle, with two conditions. Whoever takes possession of a road-killed bear must notify DNR or a law enforcement officer within 48 hours. The section does not authorize anyone to take a protected species. It covers vehicle kills only, so it does not reach an animal that died in a yard, attic or crawlspace.

Law: O.C.G.A. 27-3-22 (Animal Legal and Historical Center copy, last checked there September 2026) makes it unlawful to hunt, trap, take, possess, sell, purchase, ship or transport any hawk, eagle, owl or any other bird, or any part, nest or egg of one. The exceptions include English or European house sparrows, European starlings, feral pigeons and domestic fowl, and whatever the game and fish laws otherwise permit.

Federal rule: 50 CFR 21.16 lets any person salvage migratory birds found dead, under conditions. Salvaged birds must be disposed of within 7 calendar days, and personal use is not authorized. The authorization "is not intended for individuals actively searching for dead birds," and additional federal or state permits may be required. If five or more birds are found dead, or illegal killing is suspected, the salvager must notify the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement before salvaging. Anyone who salvages an eagle must immediately contact the National Eagle Repository, or turn it in to a federal, tribal or state wildlife agency.

We found no Georgia rule that specifically licenses dead-animal removal. The permits that come up are for other work:

• Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator (NWCO) permit, issued by DNR. DNR says it authorizes the permit holder to live-trap, possess, transport and release certain nuisance wildlife, and to euthanize certain nuisance animals.
• Structural pest control license, from the Department of Agriculture, which says "Anyone providing pest management services must hold a valid license." Georgia's definition of structural pest control (O.C.G.A. 43-45-2(17), Department of Agriculture's hosted Lexis copy, current through the 2022 session) includes controlling rodents in structures.

This site never handles, transports or disposes of a carcass, and makes no claim about any operator's permits or insurance. Whether some of these rules reach carcass work at the edges, such as dead rodents or hauling, is listed under what is unresolved.

Regulation, from EPD's solid-waste rules (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-3-4, Cornell LII copy):

• Dead animals are listed as an example of putrescible waste (391-3-4-.01(62)). Construction and demolition landfills take only non-putrescible waste.
• The rules do not apply to an individual disposing of solid waste from their own residence onto land or facilities they own, when that does not adversely affect public health (391-3-4-.04(3)). The exemption covers an owner (not a tenant).
• No solid waste may be disposed of in an open dump, and no one may allow open dumping on their property (391-3-4-.04(4)(c)).

We found no EPD or DNR text that bans a small dead animal from household garbage or a municipal landfill. Each hauler, cart program and landfill sets its own terms, and some local codes set limits (see how to dispose of a dead animal).

It can be. Law: Georgia's littering statute defines litter to include discarded or abandoned dead animals, other than those covered by GDOT's highway duty in 4-5-4 (O.C.G.A. 16-7-42). It is a misdemeanor to dump, deposit, throw or leave litter on any public or private property, including residential property and road rights of way, or in any waters in the state (16-7-43). The exceptions include a person who is the owner or tenant in lawful possession of the property, who has the owner's or tenant's consent, or who acts under their personal direction, all "in a manner consistent with the public welfare."

We read a 2016 copy of the statute (Onecle); check the official code. It prohibits dumping and creates no duty to remove a carcass.

Law: O.C.G.A. 31-19-4 (Animal Legal and Historical Center copy, last checked there September 2026) requires a person bitten by an animal reasonably suspected of being rabid to notify the county board of health immediately. The owner, custodian or person having possession and knowledge of an animal that has bitten a person or animal, or that shows signs of rabies, must also notify the county board of health and confine the animal under its rules.

Agency guidance: DPH's Rabies Control Manual names raccoons, skunks and foxes as rabies vector species and the most common land wildlife infected with rabies in Georgia, and says bites and scratches from opossums "are generally not considered to be a rabies risk." If someone was bitten, DPH says to report it to the county health department or 1-866-PUB-HLTH (1-866-782-4584). We give no medical advice.

Some do, each for its own jurisdiction. Examples from the codes we read:

• Unincorporated Cobb County (section 10-7(c)): burial or incineration in a county approved incinerator within 12 hours after death or discovery, unless the carcass is properly refrigerated or frozen, with burial at least three feet below ground and "not less than three feet of earth over the carcass." The section's abandonment rule (10-7(a), headed "Abandonment of dead animals") is written around a person who owns or cares for the animal, and we found no county page on how it applies to a wild animal that dies on your lot.
• Augusta (ordinance approved June 26, 2025, section 4-1-26(f)): 12 hours after death or discovery for disposal 'by either of the approved methods', burial (at least three feet below ground) or incineration in an approved incinerator; section 4-1-26(c) also allows the Deans Bridge Road landfill. The section's duties are written around a person who owns or is caring for the animal and 'the owner of any dead animal carcass', and we found no city page explaining how it applies to a wild animal that dies on your lot.
• Sandy Springs (10-9) and Johns Creek (34-175): a dead animal may not remain on your premises beyond 24 hours without being disposed of or properly removed.
• Unincorporated Forsyth County (14-46): 24 hours from death, for the animal's owner, agent or custodian; the code also bars burying wildlife outside agricultural zoning.
• Macon-Bibb (22-15): dead animals may not be placed in garbage containers.
• Gwinnett (10-12), Cherokee (10-40) and Henry (3-4-8): carcasses on private property are the owner's or possessor's to dispose of under state laws and regulations.

We read these places, those on our location pages and a few others; your city or county may have its own rules.

These questions are open in the sources we read.

• A deer that dies in a yard. The deer rule speaks of "the property on which the deer was killed." No source says how that applies to a deer that died of disease or injury, or after a vehicle strike, on residential land. Ask DNR's Wildlife Resources Division: 1-800-366-2661.
• Possessing a found-dead animal or bird. We found no Georgia source that says how the state's wildlife-possession laws apply to a homeowner bagging a found carcass, and DNR itself gives homeowners steps for disposing of a dead bird. DNR Special Permit Unit: (770) 918-6408.
• Paid removal of dead native birds. The federal salvage rule is not intended for people actively searching for dead birds and says other permits may be required, and the Georgia statute allows possession only as the game and fish laws otherwise permit. No source says whether a business may remove dead native birds for pay (salvage conditions above: 7 calendar days, no personal use, notify USFWS law enforcement first if five or more are found dead).
• Haulers and EPD. EPD's "collector" definition (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-3-4-.01(16), Cornell LII copy) covers a person who, under a verbal or written agreement and "with or without compensation," collects or transports solid waste from residential dwellings (not an individual hauling from their own home), and collection operations come under a permit-by-rule that requires notifying EPD's director. No EPD source says whether that covers a business hauling carcasses.
• Dead rats and mice. The Department of Agriculture says anyone providing pest management services needs a license, and structural pest control includes controlling rodents in structures. Whether removing an already-dead rodent counts is unanswered.
• Tags on a found-dead deer. DNR's hunter rule requires written information on a carcass "killed by another person" before it is transported. No source says whether that applies to someone hauling a deer that died on its own. Ask DNR's Wildlife Resources Division: 1-800-366-2661.

We have not yet put these to the agencies.