Disturbing discovery of ‘hundreds of deer carcasses’ leads to investigation in Arkansas

An Arkansas landowner recently made a grotesque discovery on his property in Johnson County — a massive pile of animal remains.

Fur and skin and bone litter the area, “hundreds of deer carcasses as well as other assorted animal bones and guts on the same land,” the owner said, according to a Jan. 4 social media post by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

Photos shared by the sheriff’s office don’t fully capture the disturbing scene.

“You will have to use your imagination on what the smell is like,” the post said.

The sheriff’s office launched an investigation, along with officers from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, shortly after the owner stumbled across the remains.

Where did the carcasses come from, and why so many?

Investigators zeroed in on a resident of Clarksville, the state Game and Fish Commission told McClatchy News in an email. They learned he was being paid by a local processing and taxidermy business to discard the carcasses, but instead he was just dumping them on private property.

“The owner of the processing business was contacted and was unaware that (the man) was dumping the carcasses without the landowner’s permission,” the Game and Fish Commission said.

The man has been cited and faces a fine of up to $1,000 and as many as 30 days in jail, the commission said. Also, he agreed to clean up the carcasses.

Clarksville is roughly 104 miles northwest of downtown Little Rock.

This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 1:02 PM with the headline "Disturbing discovery of ‘hundreds of deer carcasses’ leads to investigation in Arkansas."