Sources

Where this comes from

Every guide answer names its source, and every location page ends with a source list. This page lists them, with the date each was read and examples of the pages that rely on it.

The research behind the pages

The pages were written from research compiled on 5 October 2026 in four parts: Mississippi wildlife law (how species are classed, permits, bird protection); waste, health and licensing (the Board of Animal Health, MDEQ, the State Department of Health, the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, and road routes); deer and chronic wasting disease; and what the larger cities and counties publish about dead animals. Every finding is stored with its quotation, its web address, and a note saying whether that address belongs to the issuing body or is a copy. The methodology page explains how the research was done.

The rules we work to

• Official sources first. State codes and rules, agency pages, city and county codes and websites, and federal rules. Directories, rival sites and search summaries are not sources here; a search engine only helped locate official pages.
• Copies are named. Where the official code site could not be read, statute text came from the Legislature's own bill text that reproduces it, or from a named copy, and the source line says which.
• Scope is kept. Live-wildlife permits stay about live wildlife, road crews stay on roads, guidance for hunters stays with hunters, and a county's rule is never credited to the cities inside it.
• Silence is reported as silence. Where a page says nothing, the site says "the pages we reviewed do not say", not that no rule exists.
• Fees appear only where a code states them. Each is tied to the service its source names, such as Southaven's residential pickup, and is never presented as a removal price.
• Unverified means left out. If a source could not be read, the claim is not on the site; where only a copy could be read, such as the Legislature's bill text for a statute, the source line names the copy.

Claims this site leaves out

These questions came up during the research. The sources did not settle them, so the site either says nothing or says exactly how far the source goes:

• That Mississippi sets a statewide deadline for getting rid of a dead animal, or a statewide burial depth for a pet or a wild animal. The Board of Animal Health's burial rule is written for livestock. Local limits, such as Vicksburg's six hours or Hattiesburg's 12, are given to the city that sets them.
• That a licence or permit is, or is not, needed to remove dead animals. MDWFP's Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator permit is for removing live wildlife, and the Department of Agriculture and Commerce licenses pest control businesses. We found no rule that specifically licenses dead-animal removal, and none that rules a licence out.
• How MDWFP's CWD transport rule applies to a deer found dead on private property or beside a road. The rule's text does not say, and the MDWFP pages we reviewed do not explain it. Ask MDWFP at 1-800-BE-SMART.
• Whether collecting a dead wild bird to dispose of it falls under the state's rules on possessing nongame birds. The sources do not address it, which is why the bird page is guidance rather than a service.
• Which landfills accept carcasses. MDEQ's facility list does not say, so each facility has to be asked.
• MDOT's own number for reporting a dead animal. MDOT's contact page could not be read; the numbers given are the ones Lafayette County and Olive Branch publish, and are attributed to them.
• That a city or county will, or will not, collect from your yard, beyond what its code says. Several codes describe a route, and none we read says how far onto a property crews go.
• Whether taking away a dead mouse or rat is pest-control work that needs an MDAC licence. Unanswered in the sources, so mice, rats and cleaning-up services are not offered here.
• Any endorsement, listing or referral by a government agency. There is none.
• How many days a smell takes to fade, or a bird-flu status with no date attached.

Sources used

67 sources in all.

Reporting an error

Codes are amended and agency pages are rewritten without notice. If a page here no longer matches the official text, or you work for an agency and your service is described wrongly, send the page and sentence through the contact form; the editorial policy explains what happens next.

This site gives information, not legal advice. Where money or a legal duty is involved, confirm the position with the agency itself.