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Dead Animal Removal in Spokane
County road crews take wildlife from the right-of-way and say plainly they will not come onto private property. The animal service handles domestic animals only.
Spokane publishes the two sentences this whole subject usually lacks. The county tells you exactly where its crews will and will not go, and the regional animal service tells you exactly which animals it handles. Between them they define the private-property gap more clearly than anywhere else in Washington.
Who is responsible for what
| Situation | Who handles it | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Wildlife on a county road or right-of-way | Spokane County Road Maintenance | Removed; scoped to non-domestic animals within the right-of-way |
| Wildlife on private property | The property owner | The county's road maintenance page states its crews cannot remove animals from private property |
| Domestic animal | SCRAPS | Regional animal service; handles domestic animals only, wildlife routed elsewhere |
| Disposal, under 35 pounds | The resident | Transfer stations accept carcasses under 35 pounds |
| Disposal, over 35 pounds | The resident | Waste-to-energy facility by appointment; large animal carcass service is charged |
| State highway | WSDOT | Via Washington State Patrol or local law enforcement |
Doing it yourself here
Spokane County accepts carcasses under 35 pounds at its transfer stations and heavier ones at the waste-to-energy facility by appointment. The City of Spokane's code permits animal remains of fifteen pounds or less in the collected waste stream if separately and securely bagged, and prohibits anything heavier from the waste stream. The city's own dedicated small animal remains collection rate was repealed at the start of 2021, so there is no curbside carcass service in the current code.
Where that leaves wildlife on private ground
Two limits meet here and leave a clean gap. The county's crews are scoped to non-domestic animals within the right-of-way, and the regional animal service handles domestic animals only. A dead raccoon in a Spokane back yard is wildlife and it is on private property, so it falls outside both.
Questions about Spokane County
Does the county statement cover the City of Spokane too?
No, and it is worth being precise. The sentence is published by Spokane County Road Maintenance about its own crews and about the county right-of-way. It does not bind the City of Spokane or Spokane Valley, both of which have their own arrangements.
What about a dead pet rather than wildlife?
The county page refers domestic animals to the regional animal service and does not state a location limit on that referral. Whether it extends onto private property is not published, so this site treats it as unresolved rather than assuming either way.
Which animals does the county count as non-domestic?
Its page lists badger, cows, coyotes, deer, elk, moose, pigs, porcupine, skunk and marmots as examples, which is a broader list than most jurisdictions bother to publish.
Sources for this page
- Spokane County, Dead Animals On County Road · checked 22 September 2026
- SCRAPS, Animal Enforcement · checked 22 September 2026