Typical methods of disposal of poultry car- casses with highly pathogenic disease include burial, incineration, landfill disposal (this is not a routine disposal method, only for pathogenic or catastrophic events), ren-dering, and composting. Of these five meth-
ods, composting of mortalities on the farm appears to be the most acceptable because it averts potential groundwater pollution from burial, avoids high fuel cost and potential air pollution with incineration, and prevents potential disease spread associated with
transportation to landfills and the associated transport costs and tipping fees. Properly done, in-house composting of poultry car-casses is a cost-effective and biosecure means of inactivating pathogenic organisms in both the carcass and litter. While every state has specific rules and regulations on the disposal of poultry mortalities, the following com-
posting guidelines may help poultry compa-nies and growers who may encounter large numbers of poultry mortalities due to dis- eases like Avian Influenza (AI) that require
depopulation. If AI is diagnosed and a flock is depopulated, in-house composting is strongly recommended because this will keep AI virus from spreading.
