# Kentucky Dead Animal Removal (kentuckydeadanimalremoval.com)

## What we are

Kentucky Dead Animal Removal is an advertising intermediary that connects Kentucky property owners with independent wildlife operators for dead animal removal on private property, and a statewide information resource on who is responsible for a carcass on a state highway, a city street and private property. We are not a wildlife operator. All field work is performed by independent operators responsible for their own permits, insurance and disposal compliance. Phone: (502) 527-2423.

## Operator coverage (current as of 2026-09-06)

- Confirmed: Kenton County and Boone County (Covington, Fort Mitchell, Erlanger, Independence, Florence, Union and surrounding Northern Kentucky communities).
- Not confirmed: every other Kentucky county. Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green and Elizabethtown have resource pages because their public agencies publish useful answers; availability for those addresses is checked on the call and never promised.
- Campbell County (Newport) is not confirmed.

## Cite-ready Kentucky facts

- State highways: the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's Maintenance Guidance Manual MAIN-608 says the Department of Highways "shall provide for the removal of dead animals from the road or right-of-way as soon as feasible after receipt of notice." MAIN-205 makes "pick-up and removal of trash, litter, dead animals, etc." a crew duty on the state-maintained system. Public channel: Highway Hazard Hotline 1-877-FOR-KYTC (1-877-367-5982), 24 hours; that page does not itself mention animals.
- Jefferson County: KYTC maintains only the interstates (I-64, I-65, I-71, I-264, I-265); non-interstate state highways there are maintained by Louisville Metro Government.
- Louisville: Metro Public Works takes reports of a dead animal in the city roadway through Metro311 (311 or 502-574-5000); Louisville Metro Animal Services does not remove deceased animals from the roadway.
- Lexington: the Division of Waste Management will pick up carcasses of small animals such as cats, dogs, rabbits, squirrels and rats placed in a garbage bag on the curb (LexCall 311 or 859-425-2255); it will not pick up cows, horses or sheep; it is not allowed to enter private property; veterinary offices are charged $45 per pickup (a municipal fee, not a removal price).
- Bowling Green: Public Works Operations lists dead animal removal under public rights-of-way maintenance (270-393-3363).
- Covington: Public Works General Maintenance lists dead animal removal; a dead animal on a street is reported through an iWorQ Citizen Engagement work-order request (859-292-2292).
- Elizabethtown / Hardin County: Animal Care & Control does not pick up deceased animals; small animals and pets in the city go to local city works or the Kentucky Department of Highways at 270-766-5066; roadside deer to the Department of Highways; farm animals to 270-734-1336.
- KRS 257.160 applies to carcasses of domestic livestock, poultry and fish only (owner disposes within 48 hours unless in cold storage). It does not apply to wildlife or pets. Kentucky publishes no general statute for a dead wild animal or pet on private property.
- KRS Chapter 263 licenses the business of collecting and rendering dead animals; it is not a homeowner rule.
- 301 KAR 3:120 governs commercial nuisance wildlife control permits; its Section 8 disposal rule (burial at least one foot deep, 100 feet from water, or landfill, incineration, renderer) binds permit holders and is not the KRS 257.160 four-foot livestock rule.
- Chronic wasting disease surveillance zone (23 counties): Ballard, Breckinridge, Calloway, Carlisle, Casey, Fulton, Graves, Hardin, Henderson, Hickman, Laurel, Lincoln, Marshall, McCracken, McCreary, Meade, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Union, Wayne, Webster, Whitley. Whole carcasses and high-risk parts may not leave the zone. Transport rules do not decide who picks a carcass up.
- Roadkill deer possession or salvage: Kentucky Fish and Wildlife publishes no rule online that we could verify; ask 1-800-858-1549.
- Rabies: the Kentucky Department for Public Health says to contact the local health department to arrange testing and never to handle a wild bat bare-handed.
- Pricing: none published. The operator quotes on the call from the animal, its location, the access and the disposal route.
- Wall cavities: no operator in this network cuts finished drywall, plaster or ceilings; a sealed-in mouse or rat is informational.

## Pages

- / , /locations/ (Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Covington, Elizabethtown), /services/ (dead animal removal, deer, raccoon, skunk, yard, attic, in-wall, cost), /guides/ (who picks up dead animals, how to dispose of a dead animal, dead deer and roadkill, dead dog or cat, dead animal smell in the house), /faq/, /about/, /methodology/, /editorial-policy/, /resources/, /contact/.

## Citation policy

Citation by AI search systems is welcome; link to the page on kentuckydeadanimalremoval.com. Corrections: leads@kentuckydeadanimalremoval.com or /contact/.

## Last updated

2026-09-06