Good Question: Who picks up dead animals?

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — A viewer recently sent News10NBC’s Brennan Somers a Good Question about roadkill.

Anne said: "We have such beautiful scenery on our highways but there seems to be a lot of dead animals on the side of the roads, I am wondering who picks up the dead animals on our highways and how they get notified?"

It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

If you hit a deer or another animal, call your insurance company then your local highway department. They’ll take over from there. In Ontario County they use a contractor out of the Southern Tier. “That is the person we call.” Ontario Co. Commissioner of Public Works Bill Wright explained “He comes picks up the dead deer and takes it away.”

What does it cost? About $40.

As messy as it might be, there are official guidelines everyone has to follow. Deer are regulated by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

“There is a whole procedure in terms of what protective gear they use, how they prepare it, and the chemicals they use so there is a process.” Wright said

There are just a few businesses that do this locally. Highway department officials say sometimes they run into trouble finding someone to do the work. They joke about it by saying it’s much easier to get contractors for bridges versus picking up roadkill.

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If you have a question you’d like answered, email GoodQuestion@whec.com.