All livestock producers encounter mortality. Meat goat operations may experience annual mortality losses of up to 10% of young before weaning and 5% of adult breeding animals. For a producer with 30 breeding females, two-thirds of which have twins, this would mean a yearly loss of about five young and two adults. Disease or internal parasite outbreaks may add to this total. Dead animals must be disposed of promptly as carcasses left on the ground have the potential to spread disease, contaminate surface and ground water, feed coyotes and other predators, and cause complaints by neighbors and passersby. Further, improper disposal is illegal. Criminal statutes prohibit leaving a carcass to decompose in the open. As an example, in Oklahoma carcasses may not be deposited within one-quarter mile of surface water, dwellings or public highways, or be buried along streams or other waterways. Livestock owners have the duty to lawfully dispose of their goat mortality. Finding appropriate and cost-effective carcass disposal methods can be challenging.
There are five lawful options for animal carcass disposal: 1) rendering, 2) incineration, 3) landfills, 4) burial, and 5) composting. Finding a rendering service for goats is difficult. Due to rules and regulations concerning the handling of ruminant carcasses and offal with respect to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), many rendering facilities either do not accept goat carcasses or offal; or the disposal fees imposed may be prohibitively high for small scale producers. Open air incineration of goats is prohibited and producers wishing to use this option must purchase a closed incinerator. Some states mandate the types of incinerators allowed, such as in Minnesota where only incinerators approved by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency can be used. In addition to purchase and any installation costs, fuel costs must be considered. Not all landfills accept carcasses and producers must pay disposal fees as well as trucking costs. Trucks hauling dead animals should be cleaned and disinfected after use.
Burial is a viable option for many producers who own the needed equipment; but if machinery must be leased the cost may be high. During winter, frozen soil can prevent prompt burial of mortality forcing producers to seek other disposal options. Further, there are state regulations on burial that must be followed. In Oklahoma, carcasses may not be buried less than 1 foot (30 cm) above flood plains or within 2 feet (60 cm) of the water table or bedrock. Burial cannot take place within 300 feet (90 m) of water sources, houses, public areas or property lines, and carcasses must be covered with a minimum of 2.5 feet (75 cm) of soil. In Kentucky, carcasses must be buried at least 4 feet (1.2 m) deep and burial sites cannot be within 100 feet (30 m) of streams, sinkholes, wells, springs, lakes, public highways, residences, or stables. The carcass must be opened and covered with 2 inches (5 cm) of quicklime and at least 3 feet (1 m) of soil. In Florida, due to high water tables and soil porosity, producers should consult with local authorities to determine acceptable burial sites. Because of differences among states regarding burial requirements, producers should contact their local extension service or state department of agriculture for information.
Composting is an inexpensive, environmentally friendly method of disposing of animal mortality that is commonly used in the poultry and swine industries. Mortality composting allows producers to legally dispose of carcasses, preventing contamination of ground or surface water and the feeding of predators that can occur with indiscriminate carcass disposal. Mortality composting can become part of a farm biosecurity plan to deal with disposal of dead animals and prevent disease spread.
When properly done, animal composting generates little to no odor and temperatures generated during composting are high enough to kill most pathogens. Animals suspected to have died from severe zoonotic diseases, i.e., diseases that can be passed to humans, such as anthrax, should not be composted. Sheep and goats that die from scrapie should never be composted as the agent responsible for this neurological disease is not killed at common compost pile temperatures. However, for most cases of mortality, composting is a safe, low-cost alternative to other carcass disposal options.
As with burial, producers are advised to seek out information on their state’s rules and regulations regarding mortality composting. While some states only require concentrated animal feeding operations to obtain permits to compost mortality, other states require permits for any amount of mortality composting. For example, in Kentucky all mortality composting must be done in an approved facility with a permit issued by the State Veterinarian. If the compost product is to be distributed off-farm, another permit is required. Producers in Georgia and Alabama wishing to compost mortality must have permission from the State Veterinarian. The Cornell Waste Management Institute has a website on U.S. Mortality and Butcher Waste Disposal Laws that provides information on individual state requirements (http://compost.css.cornell.edu/mapsdisposal.html).
Next
Module Home
Certification Table of Contents
Browsing Table of Contents