PANAMA CITY BEACH — Resident Tonya Wiggins was dismayed for several days last month when a rotting deer carcass had not been removed from the boat access area at Oriole Street and South Lagoon Drive.
The carcass was submerged in the water, apparently left by someone who took parts of the deer they wanted, leaving the rest.
Wiggins called various Bay County agencies — Animal Control, Parks and Recreation and the Sheriff’s Office — attempting to have the animal removed. She also called the Humane Society, but the various organizations passed Wiggins’ calls among them.
--- FWC: PROPER WAYS TO DISPOSE OF ANIMAL CARCASSES»»
Part of the problem was that various county agencies — Roads and Bridges, Parks and Recreation and Animal Control — take responsibility for animal waste depending on location and availability, Bay County public information officer Valerie Sale said. Sale said Animal Control will take care of the carcass depending how far it is submerged in the water. Animal Control does not have a boat.
In this case, county Animal Control found the deer carcass she had complained about and removed it Dec. 24.
Florida Fish and Wild Conservation Commission (FWC) public information coordinator Bekah Nelson, who replaced recently retired FWC spokesman Stan Kirkland, said the agency is not responsible for removing discarded animal carcasses.
The FWC does recommend hunters bag and bury the carcasses. It is illegal to dump deer carcasses in Florida. Under state statute, domestic animal carcasses must be burned, buried or rendered, unless on private property. On private land, hunters can do what they wish, Nelson said.
Nelson did not think discarded carcasses were a prevalent problem in Bay County.
