diff --git a/django/contrib/gis/db/backends/util.py b/django/contrib/gis/db/backends/util.py
index ed35ce724a..b50c8e222e 100644
--- a/django/contrib/gis/db/backends/util.py
+++ b/django/contrib/gis/db/backends/util.py
@@ -3,20 +3,6 @@ A collection of utility routines and classes used by the spatial
 backends.
 """
 
-def getstatusoutput(cmd):
-    """
-    Executes a shell command on the platform using subprocess.Popen and
-    return a tuple of the status and stdout output.
-    """
-    from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
-    # Set stdout and stderr to PIPE because we want to capture stdout and
-    # prevent stderr from displaying.
-    p = Popen(cmd, shell=True, stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE)
-    # We use p.communicate() instead of p.wait() to avoid deadlocks if the
-    # output buffers exceed POSIX buffer size.
-    stdout, stderr = p.communicate()
-    return p.returncode, stdout.strip()
-
 def gqn(val):
     """
     The geographic quote name function; used for quoting tables and