Wis. Stat. § 95.50
Transportation and disposal of animal carcasses
Redline — January 1, 2003 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2009
As of January 1, 2003
(1) No person shall deposit or throw or allow to be deposited or thrown into any stream, lake or swale, or leave or deposit or cause to be left or deposited upon any public highway or other place the carcass of any animal; nor deposit or leave or permit to be deposited or left upon any premises under that person's control any dead animal exposed in such manner as to be reached by dogs or wild animals for a longer period than 24 hours in the months of April to November, or 48 hours during the months of December to March. The owner of such a carcass or any other person may report to the proper county officials or the contracting private rendering plant pursuant to s. 59.54 (21) for removal and burial or other disposition of a carcass within the time specified in this subsection.
(2) No person shall transport, haul or drag or permit to be transported, hauled or dragged along any public highway in this state the carcass of any animal suspected of having died from anthrax, blackleg, foot and mouth disease, sleeping sickness or glanders or any other disease which the department may designate as highly dangerous. All such carcasses shall be burned or be buried at least 6 feet below the surface of the ground and shall be completely covered so as to prevent their being reached by wild animals or dogs. Whenever it is necessary to transport any such carcass across any public highway for burial, it shall be transported in such manner as not to contaminate any part of the public highway. The carcasses of animals dying from other communicable diseases may be transported to and disposed of under such regulations as are prescribed by the department. The definition of "communicable disease" in s. 990.01 (5g) does not apply to this subsection.
(3) Any dead animal found upon a public highway or other public place shall, in case the owner of the animal cannot be found, be buried or otherwise disposed of at public expense by the local health department, as defined in s. 250.01 (4) (a) 1. or 3. or (b) , in whose jurisdiction the animal is found. This subsection applies if a county does not exercise its authority under s. 59.54 (21) .
(4) In a county which does not exercise its authority under s. 59.54 (21) , the owner of a carcass is obligated to dispose of it as specified in this section.
(1) Definitions. In this section:
(a) "Carcass" means the dead body, or any part of the dead body, of a livestock animal or other domestic animal.
(b) Notwithstanding s. 95.001 (2) , "contagious or infectious disease" means a disease that is spread by contact, bodily secretions, or fomites or that is caused by a pathogenic agent.
(c) "Diseased carcass" means the carcass of a livestock animal or other domestic animal if the animal was any of the following at the time of death:
1. Infected with a contagious or infectious disease.
2. Potentially infected with a contagious or infectious disease, based on known exposure to a contagious or infectious disease.
3. Reasonably suspected of being infected with a contagious or infectious disease, based on symptoms or testing.
(d) "Fomite" means an inanimate object or a substance that transfers infectious organisms from one animal to another.
(2) Carcass transportation and disposal prohibitions. No person may do any of the following, either directly or through an employee or agent:
(a) Transport or dispose of a carcass that the person knows or reasonably should know to be a diseased carcass in a manner that creates a significant and foreseeable risk of transmitting disease to humans or animals.
(b) Dispose of a carcass in the waters of the state. This paragraph does not prohibit the use of farm-raised fish as bait.
(3) Timely disposition of carcasses. No person who owns or controls a carcass, or who owns or controls the land on which a carcass is located, may leave the carcass exposed to access by dogs or wild animals for more than 24 hours during the months of April to November or for more than 48 hours during the months of December to March if the person knows or reasonably should know that the carcass is exposed.
(4) Regulation of carcass transportation and disposal. The department may, by rule or order, regulate the transportation and disposal of carcasses to prevent and control contagious and infectious diseases.
Official source: Wisconsin State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Wisconsin statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.