July 26, 2006
US heat wave killing cattle and causing pileup in California
The scorching heat wave sweeping through the US has killed thousands of cattle, leaving in its wake a massive heap of carcasses and dazed farmers with a disposal problem of gargantuan proportions.
California is one of the major cattle-producing state in the US.
The ban on animal parts in cattle feed since 1997 has led to an uncertainty in where to dispose of dead animals. Most animal parts are grounded to pet food. Pet food factories are already deluged with supplies and there is a backlog of dead cattle waiting to be processed.
Several counties have declared a state of emergency and made an exception to the law, allowing carcasses to be dumped in landfills.
While doing so may contaminate ground water should there be diseased cows in its midst, the other less palatable alternative would be to leave it in heaps attracting flies, said Phil Larson, chairman of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
The county was one of the first to declare an emergency when a plant that processes the region's dead animals broke down earlier this month. As decomposition set in, officials were forced to make the declaration to allow disposal in landfills, Larson said.
Usually, dead animals in the state are sent to rendering plants, but many have closed amid odor complaints, pressure from environmentalists and improper disposal lawsuits.
Some rendering plants also prefer the freshly dead cows and leave the older ones behind.
Individual dairy farmers could lose about 2 percent of their herd this year, according to industry experts. Hundreds of thousands of chickens and turkeys - totaling more than 1 million pounds - have also died.
Many are installing fans and misters to keep their livestock cool.
Under guidelines issued by the state's Environmental Protection Agency, farmers can dispose of dead livestock through licensed handlers which would bury them in landfills. Alternatively, they can compost their animals on their property by burying them in manure.
