Home/Dead Animal Calls in Hattiesburg
Dead or Injured Animal in Hattiesburg? Who Responds
In Hattiesburg, a dead animal is a police animal control call. The department’s own procedures say an officer responds to any report of an injured or deceased animal and disposes of it if there is no owner. What that does not cover is an animal you cannot get to.
The short version
| If the animal is | Call | What the city’s procedures say |
|---|---|---|
| Dead in a street, yard or public place in the city | Animal Control, 601-554-3603, or police non-emergency, 601-544-7900 | An officer responds, contacts any owner, and otherwise disposes of the remains. |
| Injured and suffering | Animal Control or police non-emergency | The officer may humanely end its suffering if death is probable. |
| A deer hit by a vehicle | Police non-emergency, 601-544-7900 | The state wildlife agency is to be contacted for any deer or large game struck by a vehicle. |
| Your own pet | Animal Control, 601-554-3603 | Officers contact known owners to arrange pickup, so ask what applies. |
| Under the floor, in the attic or a wall | A private removal service | Nothing covers opening a building to find one. |
What the police procedures actually say
Hattiesburg publishes the animal control chapter of its police operations manual, Chapter 118. Under “Injured or Deceased Animals”, it says the Animal Control Officer or a police officer shall respond to any report of an injured or deceased animal. If the animal is already dead, the officer contacts the owner if known to arrange pickup, and if there is no identifiable owner, disposes of the remains appropriately. If it is injured and in the officer’s judgment dying or suffering, the officer may humanely put it down. The chapter adds that the Department of Public Works may assist with disposal.
A separate section on wild animal complaints says the officer takes the initial information and decides whether the state wildlife agency needs to be called, and that it must be called whenever a deer or other large game animal is struck by a vehicle.
The city’s phone directory lists Animal Control on 601-554-3603 and the police department’s main non-emergency line on 601-544-7900.
The garbage cans
Hattiesburg collects garbage from the green can on Mondays or Tuesdays and trash from the brown can on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Its page lists hazardous waste, tires and glass as unacceptable in any can and does not mention animals. Before you bag a carcass for the can, ask Sanitation and Solid Waste on 601-545-4545, or the city’s Action Line on 601-545-4500, which turns requests into work orders.
Tell us the room and how long it has been going on, and we will pass it to a private operator covering Hattiesburg and Forrest County where one is available. Request a quote →
Inside walls, attics and crawlspaces
An officer can collect an animal lying in a yard. Nobody from the city is going to cut into a wall or crawl under a raised floor. That is a private job, and most of it is searching: the smell rarely sits exactly over the carcass. After it is removed, anything it has soaked into is taken out and the hole the animal used is sealed so another does not follow.
We do not quote prices. How hard the animal is to reach decides the work, and that needs someone on site.
The smell timeline
The odor stops when the carcass dries out or insects consume it, and there is no reliable date. An Extension expert told one homeowner a small animal usually fades within a week or two. Extension guidance says larger animals take longer. Pine Belt humidity slows drying in a closed space.
Handling, and the bat exception
The Mississippi State Department of Health says rabies in land animals is exceptionally rare in Mississippi and that bats are the state’s primary reservoir. Gloves and a shovel are still the rule for any carcass. For a bat, MSDH says do not handle it even if it seems dead, and test any bat, live or dead, that may have had contact with a person or pet. Its Office of Epidemiology handles testing questions on 601-576-7725, or 601-576-7400 after hours.
Questions people ask
Who picks up a dead animal in Hattiesburg?
The city’s police procedures for animal control say an Animal Control Officer or police officer responds to any report of an injured or deceased animal. If no owner can be identified, the officer disposes of the remains, and Public Works may help. Hattiesburg Animal Control is listed on 601-554-3603, and the police non-emergency line is 601-544-7900.
What if I hit a deer near Hattiesburg?
The same procedures say Mississippi’s wildlife agency should be contacted any time a deer or other large game animal is struck by a vehicle. Call police non-emergency on 601-544-7900, or 911 if anyone is hurt or the road is blocked.
Can I put a dead animal in my green or brown can?
The city’s garbage page does not say. It lists hazardous waste, tires and glass as not acceptable in any can, and dead animals are not mentioned either way. Ask Sanitation and Solid Waste on 601-545-4545 first.
Who takes a dead animal out from under my house?
The officer response in the city’s procedures covers reported animals that can be reached. Nothing the city publishes covers going under a floor or into a wall, so that is work for a private removal service.
Request a quote
We read every request and pass it to a licensed wildlife operator covering Hattiesburg where one is available. We are still building our list of operators here, so we cannot promise one is available or say how quickly they will respond.
Sources (checked November 7, 2026)
- City of Hattiesburg, Police operations manual Chapter 118: Animal Incidents and Control
- City of Hattiesburg, Phone Directory
- City of Hattiesburg, Garbage and Trash
- City of Hattiesburg, Action Line
- Ask Extension, Dead animal odor
- Ask Extension, Mice nest in walls
- Mississippi State Department of Health, Bats and Rabies
- Mississippi State Department of Health, Rabies