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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, September 21, 2016
The Farrier’s Corner: by Ray and Michelle Smith
Disposal of Livestock
Carcasses
This isn’t a pleasant
subject, yet it is a necessary
conversation to have. If you
own livestock, you will even-
tually have to face the issue
of animal mortality. The death
of large livestock presents a
challenging situation. Adult
horses may weigh from 900
to well over 1,000 pounds.
How do you legally and
safely dispose of something
so large?
While some deaths are
expected or even planned,
sudden deaths often leave
owners in shock and at a loss
for a disposal plan. Regard-
less of the age or health status
of your horse, a little pre-
planning can save a great deal
of confusion and trauma later.
What disposal options
are available in the state of
Oregon? If you own property,
you may bury livestock on
your property if you follow
certain rules. According to the
Oregon Department of Ag-
riculture (ODA), individual
burials of large animals must
meet three criteria:
1. The bottom of the
burial hole must be dry and
the carcass must be covered
with hydrated lime.
2. Carcasses must be
buried at least 500 feet from
surface water or wells.
3. Four feet of soil must
be piled atop the burial to al-
low for settling.
If you decide to bury on
your own land, you will either
have to dig the hole yourself
or hire it done. It is easier
to dig a livestock-sized hole
with equipment than with a
shovel, especially in frozen
or very dry soil. The hole
should be approximately 9
feet deep and large enough to
accommodate the body. If you
do not own equipment, call
around ahead of time to locate
contractors or neighbors who
are qualified and willing to
do this work should the need
arise. Check on rates and
availability. If your equip-
ment operator does not work
on weekends, have a backup
plan. Most difficult situations
do not happen at convenient
times.
If you don’t have ad-
equate land to dispose of the
animal, there is the option of
an animal disposal service.
Animal Disposal of Southern
Oregon is based in Eagle
Point and provides service to
various communities includ-
ing the Illinois Valley. They
have a good reputation for
being fast, efficient and very
courteous.
Incineration in Depart-
ment of Environmental Qual-
ity (DEQ) approved incinera-
tors is an acceptable method
of disposal for carcasses in
Oregon. Commercial crema-
tion services for horses do
exist, although they are not
common. Tualatin Oregon is
home to Dignified Pet Ser-
vices which provides whole
body equine cremation. They
are listed as a state-of-the-art
facility and the only such fa-
cility on the west coast. They
will provide transportation to
their facility via a specially
designed trailer. Rates for cre-
mation at their facility range
from $950 (minis) to $1,900
(drafts). Saddle horses are
cremated for $1,600. These
fees include transportation
from within a 30 mile radius
of the facility. Transport from
over 30 miles away is charged
at $5/mile one way. They
provide services throughout
the Pacific Northwest includ-
ing central Oregon and the
Oregon coast.
According to their
website, equine cremation
requires approximately 24
hours and renders roughly 40
pounds of ashes. These ashes
are environmentally safe and
are, of course, returned to the
owner.
Animals cannot be open-
ly burned except in cases of
pathogen or disease emergen-
cies. This type of burning is
authorized by the ODA.
A more unusual op-
tion for those with acreage
is whole animal composting.
Granted, this sounds a bit
unsavory. However, when
done properly it is consid-
ered an environmentally safe
and reliable way to recycle
the nutrients of the carcass.
In Oregon, one must have a
composting plan on file with
the ODA. You may also be
required to acquire a permit
from the DEQ. Consider-
able information is avail-
able regarding whole animal
composting. Brochures have
been produced by the Univer-
sity of Minnesota, The New
Mexico Cooperative Exten-
sion Service and Cornell
Waste Management Institute
to name a few.
Natural Disposal/In-
tentional Consumption by
Scavengers is another accept-
able method of disposal given
certain guidelines. According
to ODA information, this
method is acceptable for sin-
gle carcasses if the carcass is
located a one-half mile from
any dwelling and a one-fourth
mile from an open waterway.
If your animal was euthanized
by chemical injection, this
is not a viable option as the
euthanasia drugs pose risks to
foraging scavengers.
This method is most
suitable for large private
acreages such as ranches.
Dumping dead domestic
animals on public lands is not
legal. It is also not allowable
to leave domestic animal
carcasses within a one-half
mile of a dwelling or within
a one-fourth mile of running
streams or waterways for lon-
ger than 15 hours before legal
disposal (ORS 601.140).
Here in the Illinois Val-
ley we have a wild cat park.
While they do accept live,
reasonably healthy horses
for meat, they do not accept
deceased animals. Do not
deliver dead horses to Great
Cats World Park.
Some Oregon landfills
will accept animal carcasses.
Always check ahead to verify
that the landfill is currently
accepting carcasses and
inquire about the fee. Most
landfills will charge approxi-
mately $80 to $150 per car-
cass. Landfills currently listed
online as accepting livestock
carcasses are located in:
Enterprise, Baker City, Cor-
vallis, Arlington, Pineville,
Boardman, Eugene, Roseburg
and The Dalles.
While it is often pain-
ful and difficult to deal with
the loss of a horse, we hope
that this article will at least
help owners to prepare for the
eventuality.
We are not lawyers and
no part of this article should
be construed as legal advice.
For questions regarding legal
issues surrounding livestock
carcass disposal please
contact an appropriate state
agency such as the ODA.