A Triennial Symposium Focusing on Animal Mortality Management
About
The International Symposium on Managing Animal Mortalities is a triennial symposium focusing on collaborating and sharing information to advance sustainable practices regarding animal mortalities. These conferences have had tremendous success dating back to the start in 2005 and have garnered support from around the world. The symposium is a great opportunity for those in agriculture, academia, government and other areas that have a vested interest in managing animal mortalities. This is increasingly important during times when faced with natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and when faced with animal welfare issues including disease outbreaks. The purpose of the symposium has never been more evident since the outbreak of African Swine Fever and the impacts from Covid-19.
Typical Symposium Schedule
Day 0 Arrival to Host Location; Evening Reception
​
Day 1 Various Agricultural Tours in Host Location Area
​
Day 2 Conference Start; Keynote Address, Presentations
​
Day 3 Conference Continues, Presentations, Site Demonstrations
​
Day 4 Exercise, Conference Conclusion
Demonstrations, Soil Profiling; 5th Symposium
Demonstrations, Rotary Composter; 5th Symposium
Panel Discussion; 6th Symposium
Tour of meat packing plant; 6th Symposium
Steering Committee
Each symposium is organized from a group of volunteers that work together and are known as the steering committee. This committee cooperates and collaborates as a group think tank to bring about the agenda, requesting and accepting papers and presentations, and scheduling tours and demonstrations. Many thanks to all who have donated their time as a steering committee member.
Dr. Robert "Bob" DeOtte receiving the lifetime achievement award during the 2018 Symposium in Amarillo, Texas. Also shown are Mark King and Gary Flory.
Hosts
Past symposia host states and next scheduled symposium host state
The host of each symposium is determined by the steering committee through a collaborative effort. This starts with discussing past symposia locations, current events, and areas that may bode well to host the next event. The steering committee then works with potential hosts to make the final decision. The 7th International Symposium was scheduled to be held in 2021, however, due to the impacts of Covid-19, the in-person symposium has been scheduled for 2022. The next symposium will be hosted by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. If you are interested in being considered as a host state or location, please email the steering committee here.
Participating Organizations
The ongoing success of the symposium is due to past and present support from various organizations. The Virtual and 7th Symposium participating organizations are represented here.