Picture of document.

Mortality Management After a Rollover Event

DOWNLOAD

May 7, 2026 - Sarah Fronczak<froncza3@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension

Bodies of Dead Animals Act Information:

The Bodies of Dead Animals Act (BODA) outlines those options that are acceptable for mortality disposal in the state of Michigan (https://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(ekjsayev2vpg3m55sk05dg45))/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-Act-239-of-1982.pdf). These options include landfill, rendering, composting, burial, and incineration.

Landfill:

  1. Must be a Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) licensed landfill
    1. Map of EGLE landfills in the state of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/en/egle/about/Organization/Materials-Management/solid-waste/Solid-Waste-Disposal-Areas
    2. Call ahead to see if landfill accepts dead animals

Rendering:

    1. Must be a state-licensed renderer
    1. List of state-licensed renderers in the state of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/licensing/findafirm
    2. You may have to call MDARD for this information.

Composting:

  1. Can occur on your own property or other property with permission as long as you are following the below composting procedures:
    2. Can also occur at a registered composting facility
    3. List of registered composting facilities in the state of Michigan - https://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/DEQ-WHMD-List_Registered_Compost_Sites_230193_7.pdf
    4. Call ahead to make sure composting facility accepts dead animals

Burial:

  1. Can occur on your own property or other property with permission as long as following the below requirements:
    1. Sites must not have contact with surface or groundwater
    2. Sites must be 200 feet from wells

Incineration:

  1. Must be permitted by the Air Quality Division of EGLE
    1. Capacity could make this difficult if a large mortality event occurs
    2. No current online list of municipal waste incinerators

Other:

Other methods may be used with approval from the Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: https://www.michigan.gov/en/mdard/animals/disposal

DOWNLOAD FILE

Authors

You Might Also Be Interested In

Accessibility Questions:

For questions about accessibility and/or if you need additional accommodations for a specific document, please send an email to ANR Communications & Marketing at anrcommunications@anr.msu.edu.

Tag List
  • animal agriculture,
  • animal mortality,
  • beef,
  • dairy,
  • erail,
  • horses,
  • managing animal mortalities,
  • mortality management,
  • msu extension,
  • pork,
  • poultry,
  • sheep & goats