For Immediate Release

October 21, 2008 … Ames, Iowa. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) is releasing a new Issue Paper, Poultry Carcass Disposal Options for Routine and Catastrophic Mortality, the second in a CAST three-part series on poultry and livestock carcass disposal.

Carcass disposal is one of the major issues that poultry production facilities encounter daily. Effective disposal options are essential, regardless of the cause of mortality. “A comprehensive understanding of the wide array of carcass disposal technologies will facilitate the identification and implementation of effective disposal strategies,” says Task Force Chair Dr. John Blake, Department of Poultry Science, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. “Learning, planning, cooperation, implementation, and evaluation are necessary keys to success.”

In an effort to further such understanding and learning, CAST is publishing this Issue Paper, written and reviewed by an 11-member Task Force, which addresses the following:

• Practices for the Routine Disposal of Poultry Carcasses:
  • Burial
  • Incineration
  • Composting
  • Rendering Options
  • Extrusion
  • Alkaline Hydrolysis
• Strategies for the Disposal of Catastrophic Poultry Losses
  • Causes of Catastrophic Mortality
  • Choosing a Carcass Disposal Method
  • Mass Carcass Disposal Options
• Summary

“All of the carcass disposal methods require careful consideration for producers to be the most efficient and effective,” notes CAST Executive Vice President John Bonner. “CAST is pleased to offer this important scientific assessment of the various methods and appraisal of their best use.”

The full text of the paper Poultry Carcass Disposal Options for Routine and Catastrophic Disposal (Issue Paper 40, 20 pp.) may be accessed free of charge on the CAST website at www.cast-science.org, along with many of CAST’s other scientific publications. CAST is an international consortium of 37 scientific and professional societies. It assembles, interprets, and communicates credible science-based information regionally, nationally, and internationally to legislators, regulators, policymakers, the media, the private sector, and the public.

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Contacts:
Dr. John Blake, Phone 334-844-2640; E-mail jblake@acesag.auburn.edu
Dr. John Bonner, Phone 515-292-2125, ext. 25; E-mail jbonner@cast-science.org