Answers with sources attached
Whose Job Is It?
Plenty has been written about who collects dead animals around Reading, and most of it arrives without a source. Below is what was actually checked, what it says, and where to confirm it yourself.
Private property
The owner's, or a private operator they hire. Nothing published says otherwise.
Four pages on the city's own site were read looking for a dead animal service and none of them mentions one. That is not the same as the city refusing to help, and this page will not claim it is. It means you should not plan around a service that is not advertised.
Checked 14 September 2026: Animal Control Board, Residential Trash & Recycling, About Public Works, and the services listing on readingpa.gov. City general line 1-877-PAREADING (1-877-727-3234).A city street
The city maintains its streets, so that is the call to make first, and it is free to ask.
Reading Public Works lists street, bridge, sidewalk and median maintenance and repair among its programs, along with solid waste and recycling collection. It does not publish a dead animal service specifically, so treat this as the right number to ring rather than a guaranteed service.
Source: City of Reading, About Public Works. 815 Washington Street, Reading PA 19601.A state highway
PennDOT. Report it on 1-800-FIX-ROAD and stay off the shoulder.
Berks County falls inside PennDOT Engineering District 5, which also covers Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill and is responsible for 3,344 road miles and 2,128 bridges.
Source: PennDOT Engineering District 5, district office in Allentown, 610-871-4106.A deer, anywhere
Deer are game animals in Pennsylvania, and the Game Commission dispatch line runs 24 hours on 1-833-PGC-WILD.
That line is the right one for a deer in a public place, and for working out which agency covers a particular spot. It is not a collection service for a deer on your own land, which stays a private job.
Pennsylvania Game Commission centralized dispatch, 1-833-742-9453, staffed 24 hours a day.An animal shelter or rescue league
The Animal Rescue League of Berks County does not publish a dead animal collection service.
The ARL lists adoption, foster, medical services, lost and found pets, end-of-life services, humane investigations and animal control. Carcass pickup is not among them. They are the right call for a live or lost animal, or for a pet at the end of its life.
Source: Animal Rescue League of Berks County, 58 Kennel Road, Birdsboro PA 19508, 610-373-8830.Why this page exists
Because the version of this answer that has been online longest states a good deal as fact without showing where any of it came from, and some of it does not match what the agencies themselves publish. Anything above can be checked in about five minutes using the links attached to it. If you find something here that has gone out of date, the agency's own page wins, not this one.
Numbers that are not ours
City of Reading, 1-877-727-3234
PennDOT state roads, 1-800-FIX-ROAD
PA Game Commission, 1-833-742-9453
ARL of Berks County, 610-373-8830
Published because you may not need to hire anybody at all.
The same answers, shorter
Who removes a dead animal from private property in Reading?
You do, or a private operator you hire. No public agency in Reading or Berks County publishes a service that collects carcasses from private ground. Checked 14 September 2026 across the City of Reading Animal Control Board page, Residential Trash & Recycling, About Public Works and the services listing on readingpa.gov, none of which mentions dead animals, carcasses or roadkill.
Does the City of Reading remove dead animals from private yards?
Nothing on the city website says it does. That is an absence of a published service rather than a refusal, and the distinction matters: a practice can exist without being written down. If the animal is in a city street, the city general line is 1-877-PAREADING (1-877-727-3234) and it costs nothing to ask before hiring anyone.
Who handles a dead animal on a Reading street?
The city, in practice, for a city-maintained street. Reading Public Works lists street, bridge, sidewalk and median maintenance along with solid waste and recycling collection among its programs, though it does not publish a dead animal service specifically. Ask on 1-877-727-3234 rather than assuming either way.
What should I do if the carcass is on a state highway?
Report it to PennDOT on 1-800-FIX-ROAD and do not approach it. Berks County is in PennDOT Engineering District 5, alongside Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties, covering 3,344 road miles and 2,128 bridges. The district office is in Allentown on 610-871-4106.
Who handles a dead deer on private property in Berks County?
The property owner, or a private operator. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is the authority on game species and runs a 24-hour dispatch line on 1-833-PGC-WILD (1-833-742-9453), but neither the Game Commission nor a road crew comes onto private land to collect a carcass.
Does the Animal Rescue League of Berks County pick up dead animals?
No such service is published. The ARL of Berks County, at 58 Kennel Road in Birdsboro on 610-373-8830, lists adoption, foster, medical services, lost and found pets, end-of-life services, humane investigations and animal control. Dead animal collection does not appear among them.