The people responsible for leaving a horse carcass at a territorial landfill can’t be fined for illegal dumping because no appropriate law exists.
On Tuesday, the Yukon’s Community Services department learned a horse carcass had been found above ground and barely covered with branches at Carcross’ solid-waste disposal facility.
The horse was removed that afternoon, said Terry Bidniak, community infrastructure operations and programs manager in the community development branch.
Signs posted at the facility say the dump does not accept carcasses, but that’s as far as the policy against such animal disposal goes.
“We don’t have any statutes or legislation or power to enforce the policy if they do drop them off,” said Bidniak.
The dumps are a public service and the biggest problem is people not using them properly, said Bidniak.
Some people using the service pay no attention to where they are dropping their garbage or other items that don’t belong, such as large scraps of metal. The government pays to remove these things, he added.
“We’re working hard with limited resources and we’re improving things,” said Bidniak. “We’re working on things internally.”
The Yukon operates 20 solid-waste disposal facilities across the territory.