New policy outlines county role in removal of dead animals

Dead animals may only be removed by the Kerr County Road and Bridge Department if the carcasses are in the county roadway or on county rights of way, a new policy makes clear.

The court order, which was adopted unanimously by the Kerr County Commissioners’ Court in regular session Monday, Feb. 26, states that the Road and Bridge crew may remove the carcasses only if they pose a danger to motorists.

“At Road and Bridge, our approach to removing dead animals is from a safety standpoint,” said Kelly Hoffer, superintendent of the Kerr County Road and Bridge Department. “A dead animal in a county-maintained road becomes an obstruction.” Additionally, if a carcass is in a county easement, it might pose a drainage hazard during heavy rainfall.

The department does not have a full-time employee dedicated to dead animal removal, Hoffer explained to the court. So, when a call comes in, the individual who is going to do the removal has to stop whatever project they are in the middle of, return to the main office to retrieve the designated equipment needed for the pickup, perform the removal, take the dead animal to the landfill for disposal, return to the office to complete required paperwork and then, if there is time left in the day, swap out equipment and return to the project they were on earlier in the day.

“There is a lot of time involved with a single pick up,” Hoffer said.

“What is starting to happen, though, is that we are getting more and more phone calls from people wanting us to pick up dead animals from their back yards,” she added, explaining that a need for clarity on the county’s role is what prompted the updated policy.

“While I empathize with people who have lost their pets, picking up animals from a private backyard is not a safety issue. It is not what we do,” Hoffer added.

In proposing the policy, she provided county commissioners with some data, noting that there were dozens upon dozens of phone calls coming in during 2023. Additionally, the county spent around $21,000 in combined employee hours and equipment hours over last year on dead animal removal.

Hoffer expressed her wish that someone start a privately owned business that performs dead animal removal services, because, she said, there is definitely a need.

As the new policy states, dead animals on Kerr County rights of way reported to Kerr County Road and Bridge may be removed between 7:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Any dead animals reported after 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays may not be removed until the following business day.