Before you pay anyone
Who removes a dead animal in Toledo?
It comes down to the ground it is lying on, not the animal. Public ground belongs to an agency and costs you nothing. Private ground is the owner’s, and that is the work this site books.
| Where it is | Whose job |
|---|---|
| A City of Toledo street or city property | The City. Service requests go through Engage Toledo, its 24/7 channel, on 419-936-2020 or engagetoledo@toledo.oh.gov. |
| A Lucas County road or a township road | The County. It publishes a Dead Animal on County Road report form, and the County Engineer maintains 287 miles of county road on 419-213-2860. |
| An interstate or state route: I-75, I-475, US-23, Ohio 2, Ohio 25 | The Ohio Department of Transportation, whose own research newsletter describes carcass removal from most interstates and state routes as its responsibility. |
| Private property: your yard, drive, deck, garage or house | The property owner. None of the above will come onto private land for it. |
Why that last row reads the way it does. Ohio law puts the duty on the owner. Under ORC 941.14, the owner of premises containing a dead animal has to dispose of it within a reasonable time. That is not a livestock rule: ORC 941.01 defines an animal as any bird, reptile, amphibian, fish or mammal other than humans, so it reaches a deer or a raccoon just as it reaches a cow.
One thing worth saying plainly, because other sites are vague about it: the City publishes no dead-animal request type of its own. Engage Toledo is the general non-emergency route and the place to ask, not a documented carcass service. The City’s nuisance animals page covers live wildlife and ODNR trappers, not carcasses.
Checked 13 September 2026. Agencies change what they publish, so confirm before relying on it. Linking to an agency is not an endorsement of this site by that agency.
What counts as private property
- The yard, garden, side strip and fence line of a house you own or rent.
- A private driveway, parking pad or garage.
- Under a deck, porch, back step, shed or raised outbuilding.
- A crawl space, attic, basement or barn, where the animal can be reached.
- Commercial ground: a lot, a loading bay, a yard behind a unit, a farm field.
- Private land with a dead deer on it, which is the heaviest version of this.
The cases that are genuinely unclear
The tree lawn between sidewalk and curb
You mow it, but it is often city right-of-way. If it is on that strip or in the gutter, ask the City first rather than paying for it.
Hit on the road, died in your yard
Where it came to rest is what counts, not where it was struck. On your ground it is yours, and a road crew will not come onto private property for it.
You rent the house
Tell the landlord or the agent first. ORC 941.14 puts the duty on the owner of the premises, and most tenancies say the same thing.
It is on your property
Then it is yours to sort out, and this is the number. 419-757-8586, or send the details below.