Georgia, private property
Dead Animal in Your Yard in Georgia
We found no current public service that collects a dead wild animal from a yard in Georgia. Atlanta collects at the curb once you carry the animal there, and Athens-Clarke's Dead Animal Pickup Request page asks the same, though its FAQ 279 calls an animal off the street or right of way the resident's responsibility and FAQ 142 points private property to a wildlife removal company or the landfill. From private property, Gwinnett takes only small carcasses, bagged and set roadside. If the animal is too big, too far from the curb, or one you would rather not touch, call 404-609-1114 to see whether an independent operator covers your address.
Does Georgia law say I have to remove a dead animal from my yard?
We found no statewide rule that sets a deadline for a homeowner to remove a wild animal carcass from their own property, or that requires them to remove it. The 24-hour and 3-foot rules people quote come from the Dead Animal Disposal Act, which does not list a wild animal found in a yard. Local codes can differ: Sandy Springs and Johns Creek set 24-hour disposal limits; unincorporated Forsyth County sets 24 hours from death for the animal's owner, agent or custodian; unincorporated Cobb County (10-7(c)) and Augusta (4-1-26(f)) set 12 hours and their own 3-foot burial rules, in sections written around a person who owns or cares for the animal. More in Georgia dead animal laws.
Source: O.C.G.A. 4-5-2 and 4-5-5 (Ga. Dept. of Agriculture copy, current through the 2022 session), checked 2026-10-01.
Before you pay anyone. Make sure the animal is on your land. On a street or road shoulder it may be a road case: GDOT's duty covers state-funded highway rights of way, and some counties and cities run road channels with their own limits, listed on our location pages. Then check for a curb service. Atlanta Public Works collects at the curb once you carry a backyard animal there (ATL311, 404-546-0311). Gwinnett removes dead animals from public property, and from private property takes only small carcasses, bagged and set roadside (770.339.3200). Athens-Clarke's Dead Animal Pickup Request page asks residents to put a yard animal at the curb and then call 706-613-3501, option 7, and states no size rule; FAQ 142 limits street and right-of-way collection to animals the size of an armadillo, raccoon or opossum or larger, and FAQ 279 calls an animal off the street or right of way the resident's responsibility.
What this covers
- A deer, raccoon, opossum, skunk, squirrel or similar mammal lying on open ground (birds, bats, bears and alligators have their own rules)
- An animal along a fence line, in a flower bed, behind a shed or at the wooded edge of the lot
- An animal too heavy, or too far from the curb, to move yourself
- A carcass you would rather not bag when the local service stops at the curb
Where the limit is
A live, sick or injured animal is outside this site, which deals with carcasses; DNR's line for sick wildlife is 1-800-366-2661. 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. If someone was bitten, DPH says to report it to the county health department or 1-866-PUB-HLTH (1-866-782-4584). For other contact by a person or pet, ask the county health department what to do with the carcass.
What Georgia law says about moving it. Georgia's littering law treats a discarded dead animal, other than one GDOT must remove from a state-highway right of way, as litter and makes leaving litter on public or private property or in any water a misdemeanor unless, among other exceptions, you are the owner or tenant in lawful possession, have their consent, or act under their personal direction, all in a manner consistent with the public welfare. Dragging a carcass onto a neighbor's lot, a vacant lot or into a creek can fall under that law. EPD's solid-waste rules list dead animals as putrescible waste.
What a removal service can help with. A carcass on open ground can be reached without crawling under or into anything, so the questions are its size, its distance from a parked vehicle, and where it will go.
How a call goes
- Say what the animal is, if you know, and roughly how big it is.
- Say where it lies in the yard and how far it is from where a vehicle can park.
- Say whether anyone, or any pet, touched it.
- Give the address or ZIP. Calls reach this site's routing line, which passes them to an independent operator where one covers the area, and price and availability are settled on the call.
Questions about this situation
Will the city pick up a dead animal if I put it at the curb?
In some places. Atlanta Public Works collects at the curb once you carry an animal from the house or backyard there. Athens-Clarke's Dead Animal Pickup Request page asks the same and states no size rule, though FAQ 279 calls an animal off the street or right of way the resident's responsibility and FAQ 142 points private property to a wildlife removal company or the ACC Landfill, where fees apply. Gwinnett removes dead animals from public property, and from private property takes only small carcasses, bagged and set roadside. Macon-Bibb's request form says dead animals are removed from public roadways only, and DeKalb's page says roadkill only. Columbus's code still lets city crews enter private property at the owner's or occupant's request, at the chief's discretion, but we found no current Columbus page offering it.
Can I bury a dead animal in my backyard in Georgia?
We found no statewide depth or setback rule for burying a wild animal in a homeowner's yard, and burying on your own land is an option only where local code allows it. EPD's own-residence exemption from its solid-waste rules applies only to an owner (not a tenant) disposing of waste from their own residence on land they own, and only where it does not adversely affect public health. The 3-foot figure comes from the livestock-focused Dead Animal Disposal Act. Unincorporated Cobb County's code, section 10-7(c), says buried carcasses must be at least three feet below ground level, but no more than eight feet, with not less than three feet of earth over the carcass; the section's abandonment rule 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's section 4-1-26(f) sets its own 3-foot burial rule; its duties are likewise written around a person who owns or is caring for the animal and 'the owner of any dead animal carcass'. Unincorporated Forsyth County's code bars burying wildlife outside agricultural zoning.
Can I put a dead animal in my garbage cart?
We found no EPD or DNR text that bans a small dead animal from household garbage; acceptance is up to each hauler, cart program and landfill. Some local codes say no or set limits. Macon-Bibb's code says dead animals shall not be placed in garbage containers, Cobb's says collectors shall not be required to collect dead animals, and Gwinnett's lists dead animals larger than ten pounds as unacceptable waste for residential haulers.
What if the dead animal is my pet?
Some local governments run pet services that do not cover wildlife. Augusta's fee schedule lists an owned deceased pet pickup, Clayton County's Refuse Control picks up dead pets of county residents for a fee, and DeKalb residents can take a pet to the county's Animal Crematory for a disposal fee. Atlanta warns that a collected pet's ashes cannot be retrieved.
Which animal it is
- Dead deerSince June 2025 a statewide rule has limited where and how a deer carcass may be disposed of. Henry County DOT takes deer from county-road rights of way, and Cherokee Public Works takes a deer 'in roadway or impeding traffic'; we found no current public service that collects one from a yard.
- Dead raccoonDPH names raccoons, skunks and foxes as the land wildlife most often infected with rabies in Georgia. The local services we found collect raccoons only from streets, rights of way or public property, or at the curb once you carry one there.
- Dead skunkDPH lists skunks with raccoons and foxes as the land wildlife most often infected with rabies in Georgia. Some road crews collect roadkill; we found no current public service that collects one from a yard.
- Dead opossumDPH says opossum bites are generally not considered a rabies risk. Henry County's request page names the possum among small wildlife it does not remove, though its code (3-4-8) makes dead animals in county-road rights of way a county duty (both read 2026-10-01).
- Dead squirrelDPH says squirrels are almost never infected with rabies. Henry County's request page names squirrels among small wildlife it does not remove, though its code (3-4-8) makes dead animals in county-road rights of way a county duty (both read 2026-10-01).
- Dead birdMost wild birds are protected by Georgia and federal law. DNR gives homeowners steps for one dead bird and asks for reports of certain others.
Not sure who is responsible? Who picks it up · How to dispose of it · Dead deer in the yard · Georgia dead animal laws
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