Skip to main content
📞 404-609-1114
📞
📞 Call Now

Metro Atlanta

Dead Animal Removal in Cherokee County, Georgia

In unincorporated Cherokee County, Public Works picks up a deer or a large dog that is in the roadway or impeding traffic. County code says carcasses on private property must be disposed of by the animal or property owner or possessor. We found no county service that collects a dead wild animal from a yard or from under a house.

Call 404-609-1114 Send the details

Calls about an animal on private property in Cherokee County reach this site's routing line, which passes them to an independent operator where one covers the area; price and availability are settled on the call.

Who picks up a dead animal in Cherokee County?

For a deer or a large dog on the road, Cherokee County Public Works. Its Carcass Removal section reads: “Dead animal pickup criteria: Deer or Large Dog that are in roadway or impeding traffic.” The Public Works number is (770) 345-5842. County code section 10-40(a) authorizes Marshal's Office officers “to remove dead animals from public property,” though we found no published request channel for it. On private property, section 10-40(b) says carcasses “must be disposed of by the animal or property owner or possessor.” We found no county pickup of a dead wild animal from a yard.

Source: Cherokee County Public Works (Carcass Removal), checked 2026-10-01.

Who handles a dead animal in Cherokee County, by where it is
Where the animal isWho handles itHow to reach them
Interstate or state routeGeorgia Department of Transportation, under O.C.G.A. 4-5-4We found no Cherokee page that prints a GDOT number and no GDOT page on reporting dead animals.
Deer or large dog in the roadway or impeding trafficCherokee County Public Works(770) 345-5842, per the Public Works page
Other dead animals on public propertyCounty code 10-40(a) authorizes Marshal's Office officers to remove dead animals from public property; we found no published request channel for itMarshal's Office main line, 678.493.6200 (a general line)
Your yard, under a deck or in a crawl spaceThe animal or property owner or possessor, under code section 10-40. A private removal service, if you would rather not handle itThe number on this page; calls reach this site's routing line, which passes them to an independent operator where one covers the area

Read on 2026-10-01 from the Cherokee County Public Works and Marshal's Office pages and the county code on Municode (Supplement 39, January 20, 2026).

On a road, street or public land

Cherokee's Public Works page has a Carcass Removal section with narrow criteria: “Deer or Large Dog that are in roadway or impeding traffic.” For those, call Public Works at (770) 345-5842. The criteria do not include smaller animals such as a raccoon, opossum or squirrel. County code 10-40(a) authorizes Marshal's Office officers to remove dead animals from public property; we found no published request channel for it. The Marshal's Office main line is 678.493.6200 (a general line). The office is at 959 Marietta Hwy in Canton. Interstates and state routes are GDOT's by state law, O.C.G.A. 4-5-4, which covers dead animals within the rights of way of highways maintained wholly or partly with state funds. We found no Cherokee page that prints a GDOT number, and no dead-animal page on GDOT's own website.

In a yard, under a deck or in a crawl space

Code section 10-40(b) covers private property: “Carcasses on private property must be disposed of by the animal or property owner or possessor in accordance with state laws and regulations.” We found no county service that collects a dead wild animal from a yard. The Marshal's Office Animal Control Unit, in the county's own description, “enforces county ordinances and state laws as they relate to domestic animals.” So a raccoon by the shed or an opossum in a window well is the owner's to deal with, by hand or through a private removal service. We found no statewide Georgia rule that sets a deadline for a homeowner to remove a wild animal carcass. The 24-hour disposal rule people repeat belongs to the Dead Animal Disposal Act, which covers livestock-type animals. See a dead animal in the yard.

Under a deck, in a crawl space, in a garage or in an attic, we found no Cherokee service for a dead wild animal, and code 10-40 leaves the carcass with the owner or possessor. This number is for those calls when the animal can be reached without opening a wall, ceiling or finished floor. If the problem is a smell coming from inside a closed wall, our article on a dead animal smell in a wall explains it; the calls this site routes do not involve opening walls. See under a deck or in a crawl space and in an attic or garage.

A dead deer in Cherokee County

Cherokee Public Works picks up a deer that is in the roadway or impeding traffic. For a deer on private property we found nothing; code 10-40 puts carcasses on private property with the owner or possessor. Georgia's deer carcass rule, in force since June 25, 2025 (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-2-.19), makes it unlawful to dispose of a deer carcass 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. DNR describes proper disposal as “now required across all of Georgia.” We found no guidance on how it applies to a deer that dies on its own in a yard; ask DNR's Wildlife Resources Division: 1-800-366-2661. Cherokee is not among the four counties in DNR's CWD Management Area, which as of 2026-10-01 is Atkinson, Lanier, Berrien and Lowndes; check DNR's CWD page for changes. See dead deer removal.

What that means for you

In unincorporated Cherokee, Public Works picks up a deer or large dog “in roadway or impeding traffic,” and county code leaves carcasses on private property to the owner or possessor. For a deer or large dog in the roadway, call Public Works at (770) 345-5842. If the animal is in your yard, under a deck or in a crawl space and you would rather not deal with it, a private call fits. For a dead bear, alligator, hawk, eagle, owl or other bird of prey, call DNR (1-800-366-2661); DNR also asks for a call about a protected species such as a bald eagle, and we found no Georgia guidance on a bear or alligator found dead on private land. Bats: DPH says it is best never to handle any bat; if a person or pet may have been exposed, call the county health department. Calls to this number reach this site's routing line, which passes them to an independent operator where one covers the area. They set their own prices, and price and availability are settled on the call.

Call 404-609-1114

How Cherokee splits the work

In the pages we read, two county offices touch dead animals in Cherokee. Public Works publishes the Carcass Removal criteria, which name only a deer or a large dog that is in the roadway or impeding traffic. The Marshal's Office, at 959 Marietta Hwy in Canton (678.493.6200), handles animal control, and the county says its Animal Control Unit “enforces county ordinances and state laws as they relate to domestic animals.” County code section 10-40 covers the marshal's office side. Subsection (a) authorizes Marshal's Office officers to remove dead animals from public property; we found no published request channel for it. The section also places carcasses on private property with “the animal or property owner or possessor.” That section comes from Ordinance 2007-O-004, and we read it in Municode Supplement 39, dated January 20, 2026. The Public Works criteria are on the live county page we read on 2026-10-01. Neither source offers a pickup from private land, and neither names a fee.

Pages for the animal or the place you found it

Questions about Cherokee County

Will Cherokee County pick up a dead raccoon from the road?

Public Works' pickup criteria name only a deer or a large dog that is in the roadway or impeding traffic. County code 10-40(a) authorizes Marshal's Office officers to remove dead animals from public property; we found no published request channel for it. The Marshal's Office main line is 678.493.6200 (a general line).

Who is responsible for a dead animal on private property in Cherokee County?

County code section 10-40 says carcasses on private property must be disposed of by the animal or property owner or possessor in accordance with state laws and regulations. We found no county service that collects a dead wild animal from a yard.

What is the Cherokee County Public Works number for a dead deer?

The Public Works page lists (770) 345-5842, and its Carcass Removal criteria cover a deer or large dog that is in the roadway or impeding traffic.

Does Cherokee County Animal Control handle dead wildlife?

The county describes its Animal Control Unit as enforcing county ordinances and state laws as they relate to domestic animals. We found no county service for dead wildlife on private property; code section 10-40 places those carcasses with the owner or possessor.

Is Cherokee County in Georgia's CWD Management Area?

No. As of 2026-10-01, DNR's CWD Management Area is Atkinson, Lanier, Berrien and Lowndes counties. DNR says the area includes the county where positive samples were found and any county touching a 5-mile radius around the location, so check its CWD page for the current list. Georgia's deer carcass disposal rule applies statewide regardless.

Can I bury a dead animal on my land in Cherokee County?

Cherokee's code says carcasses on private property must be disposed of by the animal or property owner or possessor in accordance with state laws and regulations, and we found no county burial rule in the pages we read. Bury only where local code allows it. At state level, EPD's rules exempt an owner disposing of household waste on land they own if it does not harm public health, and burial is among the approved methods in the statewide deer rule. We found no statewide depth rule for a wild animal. Georgia DNR says to avoid handling dead birds; if you must dispose of one, it says it is generally best to bury it at a depth where it cannot be dug up.

Nearby areas

Sources for this page