Stock carcass disposal

Despite the highest standards of animal care, occasional losses are unavoidable when it comes to farming. That’s why it’s important to dispose of stock carcasses properly – to keep your farm safe, protect your health and the health of other animals, and look after the environment. 

Improper disposal of stock carcasses can contaminate water sources and spread disease, so it’s essential to follow regional rules around burial, composting and burning.  

Please remember, you can only dispose of animals from your farm/property on that farm/property. 

•  Burial (including offal holes and mounded burials): A permitted activity, provided it meets several conditions. The biggest constraint in the Bay of Plenty is groundwater levels. The minimum depth is 2m between the base of an offal pit and groundwater. Please note burying stock in Regional Council managed stopbanks is strictly prohibited and breaches our Flood Protection and Drainage Bylaws.

• Composting: This method requires resource consent to do this in a bunker as a controlled activity (controlling leachate discharge from the compost). The odour must be contained, and ventilation must be treated to ensure the odour isn’t objectionable or offensive to anyone. Refer to the advice of DairyNZ when it comes to composting dead stock.

• Burning: Only where directed by the relevant authorities, such as MPI or DoC, the burning of dead diseased livestock is permitted. Please notify our Pollution Hotline on 0800 884 883 prior to burning.  

Please refer to the Regional Natural Resources Plan for more information on specific rules. 

We are currently not aware of any collection services for dead stock in the Bay of Plenty.