Know steps for disposal of animal carcasses in the wake of wildfires

Special to the Post

Animal deaths occurring during the wildfires that swept through much of the Rolling Plains and Central Texas in April may best be handled by burial, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service engineer.

From January to mid-April, more than 400,000 acres and 227 homes had burned across the state.

AgriLife Extension personnel are working with county judges and Farm Service Agency personnel to get an accurate estimate of the agricultural losses.

In the meantime, on-ranch burial is the quickest way to dispose of non-diseased animal mortalities, said Saqib Mukhtar, an AgriLife Extension agricultural engineer.

Trenches should be dug in areas where the highest seasonal water table is below (at least 2 feet) the bottom of the trench. The trench bottom should be compacted or lined with clay, if possible, to control leaching of fluids from the carcasses, Mukhtar said.

He stressed to keep in mind the personal safety of workers digging trenches and disposing of carcasses.

Some other tips include:

n Do not bury or leave carcasses in flood-prone, low lying areas or in sandy, highly-permeable soils.

n Records of where and how many cattle were buried should be kept.

n The burial trench should not be near water supply wells, creeks, ponds, and streams.

n The trench should be covered and mounded with soil to shed rainwater.

n The mound should be inspected later and rebuilt if collapsed.

In a case of badly burned or disintegrating carcasses, an absorbent such as soil, sawdust, wood shavings, compost or spent horse bedding should be added to the non-intact carcasses before they are removed and taken to a burial site for disposal with a front-end loader or other similar bucket loader or dozer, Mukhtar said.

Do not move carcasses into a ditch while awaiting final burial, Mukhtar warned. A staging area may be set up at a site which doesn't allow water to run onto the temporarily stored carcasses or run off from the carcass storage area. Temporarily stored carcasses should be properly disposed of within 72 hours of death.

"You may need to berm the staging areas if run-on or runoff (water) is expected," he said.

The site should have a compacted bottom, preferably a compacted rock-base or an existing concrete pad, Mukhtar said.

The surface should be covered with 12 to 18 inches of wood shavings, sawdust, cotton gin trash, compost, spent horse bedding or any other material that will absorb and contain liquids from carcasses.

The carcasses should then be placed over this layer and completely blanketed with the same absorbing material or soil, he said. The staging area should be fenced off or protected in some way from scavengers.

"Again, worker safety and record keeping - where and how many carcasses, if counting is possible - are important considerations," Mukhtar said. "Temporary disposal is just that, and a proper disposal option will be to compost, properly bury on site or send to a Type I landfill. Please check with the landfill whether they accept animal mortalities or not."

More on burial and composting, as well as other mitigation and recovery information is available at http://tex

ashelp.tamu.edu/004-natu

ral/fires.php.

Mukhtar said the key is for individuals who are trying to bury a few animals to stay in compliance with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regulations, which can be found at http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/files/rg-419.pdf_4443278.pdf.

A sample affidavit giving a description of the number of carcasses and a general description of the burial location is available from the commission.

Contact the regional Texas Commission on Environmental Quality office that serves the affected county or the TCEQ central office at (512) 239-0436 for assistance obtaining these documents.