Animal carcasses disposed outside Saratoga

The weather was beautiful and what should have been a pleasant drive down County Road 385 was marred by a grotesque sight this past weekend. Approximately two miles outside of Saratoga, the remains of a dozen or so animals including, elk, deer, antelope and two black and white dogs were spotted.

It appears that people have been dumping animal carcasses on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands for at least a few months. Some of the animals appear to have been processed after hunting.

Disposing of animal remains on public lands is illegal. If caught illegally dumping a dead animal, fines can be imposed.

There are options available to properly dispose of dead animals. The dead animal pit at the dump in Saratoga is still open until summer but it will soon to be revamped. (For additional information, see "An awful lot of ofal" by Joshua Wood from the April 8 edition of the Saratoga Sun.)

The Saratoga Sun has reached out to the BLM who said that they would follow up, but as of press time has not provided additional information.

The Wyoming Game & Fish Department provides a map of landfill and transfer stations that may accept waste from processed game animals and whole carcasses on their website at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Carcass-Disposal-Sites. The website also provides the following note about carcass disposal: CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) can be transmitted from carcasses of animals that have been harvested by hunters and are positive for CWD. The majority of CWD positive animals that are harvested appear completely normal and healthy. To minimize the possibility of transmission, Wyoming's regulations require deer, elk and moose hunters transport only the following items within Wyoming from the site of the kill:

• Whole carcasses can be transported to a camp, private residence for processing, a taxidermist, a processor, or a CWD sample collection site in Wyoming provided that the head and all portions of the spinal column remain at the site of kill or such parts are disposed in any approved landfill or approved incinerator in Wyoming.

• Cut and wrapped meat

• Edible portions with no portion of the spinal column or head attached

• Cleaned hide without the head attached

• Skull, skull plate or antlers that have been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue

• Teeth

• Finished taxidermy mounts

Whole deer, elk and moose carcasses cannot be transported out of Wyoming. The only parts approved to leave the state are edible portions with no part of the spinal column or head; cleaned hide without the head; skull, skull plate or antlers that have been cleaned of all meat and brain tissue; teeth; or finished taxidermy mounts. While these parts are permitted to leave Wyoming, not all states regulations align with this.

Wyoming Statute 35-10-101 reads:

"The depositing, placing, or causing to be placed or put, the carcass of any dead animal or the offal ... or any offensive matter or substance whatever upon or into any river, creek, bay, pond, canal, ditch, lake, stream, railroad right-of-way, public or private roadway, highway, street, alley lot, field, meadow, public place or public ground,..., or where the same may become a source of annoyance to any person, or within one-half mile of any inhabited dwelling, or within one-half mile of any public roadway, by any person or persons, association of persons, company or corporation, incorporated city, incorporated or unincorporated town in the state of Wyoming,..., shall be unlawful and is hereby declared to constitute a nuisance detrimental to the public health and general welfare of the citizens of Wyoming,..."