Oregon Dead Animal and Wildlife Resources
Every source this site relies on, linked to the agency's own page so you can check it yourself. Retrieved 2026-09-20. None of these pages is hosted here. Each one belongs to the agency named beside it and changes when that agency decides to change it.
Dead animal on your own property? That case is not on any of these pages. Call (503) 213-6864 or send the details.
State agencies, statutes and administrative code
ODOT: Contact Us, and the Carcass Collection Program
The published state-road channel, Ask ODOT on 1-888-275-6368 and AskODOT@odot.state.or.us. ODOT picks up roadkill on major state roadways through its Carcass Collection Program and records carcass data to identify collision hot spots. It is maintenance practice, not a statute, and there is no carcass-specific hotline.
ODFW: Roadkill Salvage Permits
Deer and elk only. A free permit completed within 24 hours of taking possession, applied for through ODFW's electronic licensing system; the head and antlers surrendered within five business days for chronic wasting disease testing; all other parts kept; sale of any part prohibited; transfers by written Wildlife Transfer Record.
ODFW: Chronic Wasting Disease in Oregon
States that CWD has not yet been detected in Oregon, while naming Idaho (2021), California (2024) and Washington State (2024). Resident hunters have no in-state carcass transport or disposal restrictions; import of central nervous system tissue is prohibited. This is why Oregon carries no carcass-movement regime.
ODFW: Wildlife Control Operators (WCO permit)
Oregon's permit regime for commercial wildlife control work, and the reason the word licensed appears on this site only as a reference to an actual regime. The page notes a WCO permit is not required for the onsite capture and euthanasia of species defined as predatory animals. ODFW: (503) 947-6000 or (800) 720-6339.
ORS chapter 601, "Dead Animals": ORS 601.140
The disposal section: no person shall knowingly leave the carcass of any domestic animal, which the person has owned or had in charge, within one-half mile of any dwelling or within one-fourth mile of any running stream of water for longer than 15 hours without burying or burning it. Read both qualifiers before applying it to anything else.
ORS 601.080(1), transporting carcasses for hire
Requires a licence before a person transports dead animal bodies, carcasses or parts for hire upon the highways of the state. A hauler and renderer rule, listed here only so it is not mistaken for a rule governing a resident moving one animal.
ORS 601.990(2) and ORS 601.020(2)
The penalty and the exemptions in the same chapter: a violation of ORS 601.140 is a Class D violation, and the chapter does not reach the slaughtering and handling of animals for human consumption or the dissection of animals for scientific research.
Oregon Department of Agriculture: Livestock Mortality
The agriculture department's restatement of the ORS 601.140 deadline, framed around a cow or horse, adding that carcass disposal must be safe for animals and the environment. Useful mainly as confirmation that the statute is understood as a livestock and domestic-animal rule.
Multnomah County Animal Services: Deceased Animals & End of Life Services
The single most useful municipal page in Oregon on this subject. Officers respond to deceased cats, dogs and large wildlife in public areas; an animal in a private area must be moved to the public right of way for pickup; MCAS is unable to pick up small wildlife, with seventeen named examples; MCAS does not offer pickup for personal pets. (503) 988-7387.
Washington County: Resources for Animals Outside of the Shelter
The one Oregon county found with a broader pet service: Animal Services will pick up dead cats and dogs in any location that is safe for us to do so. Deer, elk or livestock in public road right-of-ways go to Land Use & Transportation Operations; other wildlife inside city limits is referred to the local city's public works department. 503-947-6000.
City of Eugene: reporting a dead animal
The clearest private-property statement published by any Oregon city: the City picks up dead animals in the City right-of-way, defined as city streets, the area between the sidewalk and the curb, parks and bike paths, and if the dead animal is located on private property the property owner is responsible for disposal. Public Works Maintenance 541-682-4800; Lane County Transfer 541-682-4120.
Jackson County Roads: Dead Animals
A county department with a page specifically about dead animals, and the clearest road-class statement in Oregon: the roads it manages differ from city streets, state highways, and private roads or private property. Wildlife such as deer, elk, skunks, raccoons and birds are handled on a case-by-case basis; after hours, an emergency hazard is a 911 call.
Oregon Metro: garbage and recycling disposal
Metro is the Portland region's directly elected regional government and runs the area's waste system. Multnomah County refers residents here, stating that deceased animals may be triple-bagged and brought to a Metro Transfer Station for a fee, and that Metro should be contacted for size limitations.
Oregon Humane Society: pet memorial services
The first end-of-life provider Multnomah County names for a deceased pet, since the county does not collect personal pets. Fees and services belong to the organisation and change; the county recorded a range when we read its page, and it is quoted on the dead-pet guide with that attribution.
What each city actually publishes
Each city page quotes its agency verbatim and lists what the page does not say. The card is the short version; the quotes are on the city page.
Portland: Multnomah County Animal Services
There is a county service, and it stops well short of a dead animal in a Portland yard. Multnomah County Animal Services attends deceased cats, dogs and large wildlife in public areas, and its page says an animal in a private area must be moved to the public right of way before it is collected. Published contact: (503) 988-7387.
Eugene: City of Eugene Public Works Maintenance
Eugene answers the question in one sentence, and the answer is the property owner. The city collects dead animals from the city right-of-way, which it spells out as streets, the strip between sidewalk and curb, parks and bike paths. Published contact: 541-682-4800.
Hillsboro: Washington County Animal Services
Washington County takes pets and routes wildlife elsewhere. Animal Services picks up dead cats and dogs in any location safe for its officers, and its page does not limit that to public ground, which makes it a broader service than the neighbouring county offers. Published contact: 503-947-6000.
Medford: Jackson County Roads
Jackson County publishes the clearest road-class distinction in Oregon and stops at the county road. Jackson County Roads manages the county-maintained roads in the county and states that these differ from city streets, state highways, and private roads or private property.
Every source cited in the guides
Tier 1 is statute and administrative code, tier 2 a state agency's own page, tier 3 a county or city page. Each guide carries its own list beside the claims it supports; this is the union.
- City of Eugene FAQ on reporting a dead animal: the city right-of-way definition and the private-property responsibility sentence
- Jackson County Roads Dead Animals: the county-road scope and its explicit exclusion of city streets, state highways and private property
- Multnomah County Animal Services Deceased Animals & End of Life Services: public-area scope, the private-area right-of-way condition, and the seventeen small-wildlife examples it cannot collect
- ODFW, Chronic Wasting Disease in Oregon CWD has not yet been detected in Oregon; no in-state carcass transport or disposal restrictions for residents; import prohibition
- ODFW, Roadkill Salvage Permits Deer and elk only; free permit within 24 hours of taking possession; head and antlers surrendered within five business days; sale prohibited; Wildlife Transfer Record for transfers
- Oregon Department of Agriculture Livestock Mortality: restates ORS 601.140 and the requirement that disposal be safe for animals and the environment
- Oregon Department of Transportation Contact Us: Ask ODOT 1-888-275-6368 as the published state-road channel
- Oregon Metro Garbage and recycling disposal for the Portland region; the transfer-station system Multnomah County refers residents to
- Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 601 Chapter titled Dead Animals; ORS 601.140 scope and ORS 601.990(2) penalty
- Washington County Resources for Animals Outside of the Shelter: cats and dogs in any safe location, deer/elk/livestock to LUT operations, other wildlife to city public works
- ODFW, Wildlife Control Operators (WCO permit) Oregon's permit regime for commercial wildlife control work, named so that licensed refers to an actual Oregon regime
- Oregon Humane Society Pet memorial, euthanasia and cremation services; the provider Multnomah County names first
Oregon resources: questions
Where is the Oregon rule that says the state removes dead animals from highways?
How do I report a dead animal on an Oregon state highway?
What are Oregon's rules for a deer or elk killed by a vehicle?
Does Oregon have chronic wasting disease carcass rules?
Is there an Oregon statute for a dead wild animal on private property?
Nothing above will come to your yard
The sources above settle whose road it is, and tell a homeowner what to do alone. None of them sends anyone out. Say what the animal is and where it is lying: on a road you get the agency that maintains it, and on your own lot you get a straight answer on whether anyone is available for the address, with the price on that same call.