Pine Belt
Dead Animal Removal in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg's code is specific. City sanitation removes dead animals from the rights-of-way of city roads, a carcass must be disposed of within 12 hours, and a buried one has to lie between three and eight feet down.
For a dead animal on your own property in Hattiesburg.
Who removes a dead animal in Hattiesburg?
Hattiesburg's Code of Ordinances, §6-149, makes it "the duty of the city department of sanitation to remove and dispose of the carcasses of all dead animals found within the rights-of-way of all city roads maintained either totally or in part from city funds." Away from those rights-of-way, the same section sets rules: disposal "must be completed within 12 hours after the death or discovery of the carcass unless the carcass is properly refrigerated or frozen," and arrangements to dispose of a dead animal at a city landfill must be made with a city animal control official. The city's "How do I" page lists a general Action Line, 601-545-4500; the code sections we reviewed do not name a phone number for dead-animal requests.
Source: Hattiesburg Code of Ordinances §6-149, checked 2026-10-05.
This page is about the City of Hattiesburg, in Forrest and Lamar counties.
| Location of the animal | Responsible | Contact or note |
|---|---|---|
| A state highway, such as US 49 or US 98 | Mississippi Department of Transportation | (601) 359-7001, as listed by Lafayette County's website |
| The right-of-way of a city road | Hattiesburg Department of Sanitation (Code §6-149) | No dead-animal number in the code; the city lists a general Action Line, 601-545-4500 |
| Disposal at a city landfill | Arranged with a city animal control official (Code §6-149) | A city animal control official |
| A small dead animal at a home | Stored in covered containers until the garbage department collects it (Code §36-62) | "Small" is not defined |
| Under a house, a crawl space or an attic | Not described in the code sections reviewed | General Action Line, 601-545-4500 |
From Hattiesburg's Code of Ordinances and city website, read 5 October 2026.
Roads and public ground in Hattiesburg
City sanitation removes dead animals found in the rights-of-way of city roads, including roads maintained partly with city funds (§6-149). For a state highway, Lafayette County's website says MDOT handles dead animals in the roadway and lists (601) 359-7001. County roads outside the city belong to Forrest or Lamar County.
At a home in Hattiesburg
Off the right-of-way, the part of Hattiesburg's code we reviewed sets a clock: a carcass must be disposed of within 12 hours of the death or discovery unless it is refrigerated or frozen. The section does not say who must do it. A separate line makes it unlawful for a person who owns or is caring for an animal that has died to abandon it. Another section, §36-62, says small dead animals are stored in covered containers until the garbage department collects them, without defining "small"; ask the Action Line whether that applies to your case.
Nothing in the Hattiesburg sections and pages we reviewed covers an animal under a house or deck, in a crawl space or in an attic. If the animal can be reached through an existing opening, an independent operator, where one covers your address, can remove it without cutting anything.
Deer in Hattiesburg
Forrest and Lamar counties are not in any of MDWFP's 2026-2027 CWD Management Zones. A dead deer in the right-of-way of a city road falls under the sanitation duty in §6-149. MDWFP asks the public to report deer found emaciated, lame or immobile, or dead with no obvious cause of death, through its app, mdwfp.com/cwd or 1-800-BE-SMART.
Garbage and burial in Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg's code says buried carcasses must lie "at least three feet below the ground level, but no more than eight feet, and have not less than three feet of earth over the carcass." Disposal at a city landfill has to be arranged with a city animal control official.
In practice
If the animal is in a city road right-of-way, call the Action Line at 601-545-4500. If it is on your property, note that the code sets a 12-hour disposal limit and burial depths without saying who must meet them; ask the Action Line at 601-545-4500, or call this site's number or send the form, especially for anything under the house, in a crawl space or in the attic.
Hattiesburg in numbers
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Hattiesburg's population at 48,522 in 2024. Section 6-149's code history cites a 2019 ordinance (Ord. No. 3263), one of the more recent local rules in this site's research.
By animal, or by where it lies
Hattiesburg: questions
Does Hattiesburg pick up dead animals?
Hattiesburg's code assigns removal of dead animals in the rights-of-way of city-maintained roads to the city sanitation department. For other cases, ask the city's Action Line at 601-545-4500.
How quickly does a dead animal have to be disposed of in Hattiesburg?
Hattiesburg's code says disposal must be completed within 12 hours after the death or discovery of the carcass, unless it is properly refrigerated or frozen.
How deep must an animal be buried in Hattiesburg?
The code says at least three feet below ground level but no more than eight feet, with at least three feet of earth over the carcass.
Can I take a dead animal to the city landfill?
Hattiesburg's code says arrangements to dispose of a dead animal at a city landfill must be made with a city animal control official.
Other places on this site
What this page was built from
- Hattiesburg Code of Ordinances §6-149, read 2026-10-05
- Hattiesburg Code of Ordinances §36-62, read 2026-10-05
- City of Hattiesburg, How do I, read 2026-10-05
- Lafayette County, report a dead animal on a roadway, read 2026-10-05
- MDWFP, Chronic Wasting Disease, read 2026-10-05
- U.S. Census Bureau, population estimates, read 2026-10-05