Dead Animal Removal in Clearfield, PA

Why Clearfield Has the Dead-Animal Calls It Does

Clearfield County spreads roughly 78,000 residents across a heavily forested stretch of the Allegheny Plateau drained by the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Moshannon State Forest covers an enormous share of the county, with Parker Dam and S.B. Elliott State Parks inside it, and the terrain is remote enough that the county sits on the western edge of Pennsylvania's wild elk range — elk, like deer and bear, are Commonwealth property and a Game Commission matter, which is a distinction that matters here and almost nowhere else in the state. DuBois anchors the county's northwestern corner and Clearfield borough the center, both with older housing built around timber and coal. Deer-vehicle collisions concentrate on I-80, US-322, US-219, and PA-153.

Common species calls in greater Clearfield: Most-called species across Clearfield County: deer (forest edge and I-80 corridor, peak Oct-Dec rut), black bear (routine given state-forest coverage), raccoon (Clearfield and DuBois's timber- and coal-era housing; primary PA rabies vector), squirrel and flying squirrel, groundhog, skunk, opossum, and coyote. Elk occur on the county's northern fringe within Pennsylvania's managed elk range.

Pickup jurisdiction in Clearfield: Clearfield County does not operate a county health department — only seven Pennsylvania counties do. It is served by the Clearfield County State Health Center under the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Clearfield Borough's site names a Street Department but publishes nothing about dead animals, and the county's solid-waste pages are silent, so who removes a carcass from a borough street is not published; PennDOT covers I-80, US-322, US-219, and PA-153. DCNR administers Moshannon State Forest and the state parks within it. Private property is the owner's responsibility. PennDOT's FAQ names deer, bear and elk (this is elk country) as the Game Commission's responsibility, but says any dead animal on a state road or bridge should be reported to the local PennDOT county office, which arranges removal, or to 1-800-FIX-ROAD.

Neighborhoods in and around Clearfield: Clearfield, DuBois, Philipsburg, Curwensville, Houtzdale, Coalport, Mahaffey, Grampian, Osceola Mills, Ramey, Wallaceton, Madera.

All Clearfield field work is performed by independent partner operators, following the Pennsylvania Domestic Animal Act (PA Department of Agriculture) and PA DOH rabies-vector protocols (PA DOH rabies-vector guidance).