Losing your pet or coming across is a dead cat in your yard is not a pleasant experience. Almost all UK councils will remove dead cats from public areas, such as parks, pavements, roads, and open spaces.
Most homeowners in the UK bag the dead cat and leave it at their homes’ front boundary. A local council will collect the dead animal within 24 hours. Bear in mind that local councils do not bag dead cats and collect un-bagged carcasses.
Disposing of a dead cat in the right way is very important for your health and other people’s wellbeing, especially if you have kids at home. In today’s article, we will give you a few tips to get rid of a dead cat. Read on!
Dispose of a Dead Cat – Tips
Dead cat carcasses can carry a wide range of infectious diseases, affecting your health and other species. These diseases are often transmitted when people make physical contact with the dead cat carcass.
For instance, Tularaemia is one disease that you can get when you come into contact with a dead cat. Research shows that a bacterium known as Francisella tularensis can cause Tularaemia in humans. Cough, ulcers, chest pain, inflamed lymph glands, and asthma are symptoms of Tularaemia. That’s why it is crucial to dispose of your dead cat immediately.
Local councils govern various disposal methods. So, you must investigate UK laws or local council regulations on dead cat removal. UK laws allow the burial of dead animals in the garden, except for livestock and horses.
Safety First
Avoid touching a dead cat without protective gloves and clothing. If you contact your dead cat carcass without gloves, make sure you wash your hands with antibacterial soap and water. If there notice any signs of zoonotic diseases, inform a local disinfectant service to clean the area with chemicals to prevent infections.
Bury the Carcass
Burial is one of the oldest disposal methods for pet owners in the UK. However, this method requires careful planning and preparation. Select the burial site carefully in your garden. Wrap the dead cat in a plastic bag and bury it underground.
Make sure you wear latex gloves and a HEPA respirator to avoid unpleasant smells and contaminations. When selecting a burial site for your dead cat, make sure there are no underground water sources nearby. That way, you can reduce the risk of water contamination.
If you don’t want to bag the dead cat using your hands, you can use a shovel. The type of soil is another factor you need to consider. Make sure the ground does not have too much sand. Generally, burying a dead animal in winter is difficult.
Incineration
Research shows that over 1.5 million pets, including cats and dogs, die each year in the UK. More than 300,000 dead pets are buried in the garden, 1,000 in cemeteries, and over 100,000 are cremated individually. The rest of the dead pets are disposed of as clinical wastes, typically through incineration. Some pets end up in landfill sites.
Dead cat carcasses are usually burnt inside a fired incinerator. It is an effective method to reduce mass and eliminate pathogens. The ash is then encapsulated or packaged and sent to a landfill site. Bear in mind that incarnation is not an affordable option due to the labour costs and lack of certified incinerators.
