MEMPHIS – Animals euthanized at the Memphis Animal Shelter are being buried in a landfill after a city incinerator failed, officials said.
The incinerator is operated by the Memphis Public Works Division. It typically handles the disposal of animals at the city shelter and animals that die at Memphis homes.
But with the incinerator broken, the dead animals are being sent to a landfill. In a memo, Mayor A C Wharton’s chief of staff Bobby White said the animals in Memphis are buried separately from other areas of the landfill. The memo also says the landfill is lined to prevent liquids from seeping out, The Commercial Appeal reported.
George Little, the city’s chief administrative officer, says there are no plans to repair the incinerator because of the cost involved.
“The incinerator is shut down,” Little said. “The carcasses of the dead animals are being disposed in the landfill. It is my understanding that is an acceptable method of disposal.”