Ruminant Carcass Disposal Options for Routine and Catastrophic Mortality

Animal agriculture is an enormous industry in the United States, and it is critical to address specific agricultural security challenges that accompany it, such as carcass disposal. Death losses, also referred to as mortalities, may be classified broadly as either routine or catastrophic. Routine ruminant mortalities represent a small proportion of overall herd size and can be expected to occur and fluctuate throughout the normal course of production; catastrophic mortalities, however, involve larger numbers of losses within a distinct time period and result from a single event such as a barn fire, natural disaster, or epidemic disease. Regardless of the manner of death or numbers of animals affected, safe, effective carcass disposal is essential. This Issue Paper provides a critical, scientific assessment of the predominant methods for carcass disposal in commercial ruminant production. Burial and landfill are often a convenient and affordable means of carcass disposal, but environmental or regulatory considerations may make these methods less feasible, especially if an infectious material is involved. Rendering is an established, cost effective method for carcass disposal, but the process does not completely inactivate prions (disease-causing agents) and rendering facilities may not be conveniently located. The effectiveness of incineration as a carcass disposal method varies depending on the technique used: open-air burning can be inexpensive but has the potential for environmental contamination; fixedfacility incineration is biosecure but is expensive and has limited capacity; This material is based upon work supported by the United States Department of Agriculture under Grant No. 2005-38902-02319, Grant No. 2006-38902-03539, Grant No. 2007-31100-06019 / ISU Project No. 413-40-02, and Grant No. 2008-38902-19327 and by the Agricultural Research Service under Agreement No. 59-0202-7-144. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Iowa State University, or the Agricultural Research Service. Various types of ruminants: feedlot cattle (photo courtesy of CHS, Inc., St. Paul, MN); beef cow (photo courtesy of SXC.hu, Kim Groves, photographer); and sheep (photo courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service Image Gallery) Ruminant Carcass Disposal Options for Routine and Catastrophic Mortality