Livestock Carcass Disposal

Alabama law requires carcass disposal within 24 hours. Approved methods of carcass disposal include burial and burning, as well as disposing of the carcass in an approved landfill (contact your local landfill for more information). Burial is not an option for those locations in Alabama with a high water table. If an incinerator is used to burn mortalities, use one approved by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management Air Division (Excel Spread Sheet). Four Alabama Department of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories are also available to perform an examination into the cause of death (necropsy) and then dispose of the carcass. Contact information for the four Alabama Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories is listed below. The Alabama Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories should only be used when the cause of death needs to be determined.

Alabama Department of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories:

The following is an excerpt of Alabama law that dictates the rules and regulations governing carcass disposal:

“All owners or custodians of animals which die or are killed in their possession or custody, other than such as are slaughtered for food, within 24 hours shall cause the bodies of such animals to be burned or buried at least 2 feet below the surface of the ground. Hogs dying from cholera or any other disease whatsoever shall be burned. No such animal shall be burned or buried sufficiently near a residence or residences as to create a nuisance. Any person violating this section, whether by failure to burn or bury an animal dying or being killed in his possession or by causing the same to be burned in such proximity to a dwelling or in such other way as to become a nuisance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor….”

Failure to properly dispose of a carcass is therefore against the law, not responsible, and potentially detrimental to herd health and the environment. Care must be taken not to contaminate the water table, creeks, ponds, rivers, watersheds, and other water sources when disposing of a carcass. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NR CS) is available to help identify appropriate livestock burial sites that meet Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM ) regulations. Contact ADEM , (334) 394-4309, your local NR CS district office, or the Alabama Cooperative Extension System when assistance is needed.

ANR-1324 New February 2008. Soren P. Rodning, Extension Veterinarian, Assistant Professor, and W. F. “Frank” Owsley, Extension Animal Scientist, Associate Professor, Animal Sciences, Auburn University.

For more information, contact your county Extension office. Visit http://www.aces.edu/counties or look in your telephone directory under your county's name to find contact information. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.