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The view along Iowa roadways is nice this time of year, but oftentimes it's littered with roadkill.

Do you ever wonder what happens to the dead animals along the road?

Our news partner KTVO's Greg Deffenbaugh spoke with officials in several Iowa counties. In Jefferson and Davis County, it is common procedure for the secondary roads department to remove the dead animals along county roads.

However, in Wapello County, a different procedure is followed. KTVO spoke with Wapello County Supervisor Jerry Parker about the topic.

“Well, the county really doesn’t remove animals off the roads. If we get a call about a deer that is dead and close to someone’s property, and the can’t remove it, we will go and drag that deer to the nearest wooded area. We don’t haul it to the landfill or anything like that,” said Parker.

When it comes to roads operated by the Iowa Department of Transportation, they would be responsible for cleaning up any debris or dead animals along the roadway. Surprisingly it is not the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ job to clean up the dead animals.

“On county roads, the Iowa DNR doesn’t pick them up. The county may pick them up on deer. We don’t do small animals like raccoons, opossums, things like that,” said Parker.

In Illinois and Missouri, the Dept. of Transportation maintains cleared roadways based upon available budget, but even there you may see smaller animals left behind.

Marison Brown-Ellison with MoDOT says that they rely on the public when they see such a case ... you can call 1-888-275-6636 to report the need for a roadside clean up in Missouri. 

Keep in mind, if you strike a deer with your car, you must report possession of the killed deer to your Department of Natural Resources. (See page 2777 in Illinois Register, Department of Natural Resources.) 

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