Butte County Recovers-The official website for Butte County disaster response and recovery

Animals

Butte County Animal Shelters:

  • As of 1/14/19, all county animal shelters are closed.

Finding Lost Animals

If you are trying to locate a lost pet, please visit www.campfirerescuedanimals.com.

A picture of every lost domestic animal in the emergency animal shelters is posted on this site.

Adopting Lost Camp Fire Animals

Animals without identified owners (considered lost from the Camp Fire) have been transferred out of the Camp Fire emergency animal shelters to other small animal shelters. These lost animals will be held for an additional 30 days and will remain listed on the lost animal website: www.campfirerescuedanimals.com. Each animal on the website will have an ID number and new shelter location indicated. Based on their exact arrival date to the new shelter, many of these holds will be lifted starting on January 19th.

Anyone interested in adopting one of these animals is encouraged to follow the shelter’s website where the animal is located. All standard adoption processes apply and will be handled through the current shelter. The public is asked to first check the shelters website for details about animals available for adoptions before visiting the shelter in person.

If you previously volunteered at one of the emergency shelters and indicated that you would like to adopt one of the lost animals, this information will go with the animal to its new shelter.

If you see an animal on the lost animal website and you are the owner, please call the new shelter which is indicated under the animal’s photo on the website.

Handling of Deceased Pets and Livestock

If you find that your pet did not survive the fire, please refer to the guidelines outlined below to handle the remains of your pets in a manner that is safe and environmentally responsible.

Disposing of Pet Remains:

You may choose to do this yourself by following the steps below. The risk to humans from animal remains is low if proper precautions are taken. Practice proper hand washing to prevent infection with certain pathogens that may be transmitted from farm animals, including Salmonella and E. coli.  Please use soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, rinse under clean water and pat hands dry on a clean towel.

You may also contact Butte County Animal Control and they will remove the deceased pet for you at no cost, please call: 530.552.3888.

  • Wear gloves.
  • Cover your gloved hand with a plastic trash bag, pick up the remains, then invert the trash bag over the remains and seal the bag.
  • For larger animals, use a shovel to place remains inside a plastic trash bag, then rinse off the shovel with water.
  • Place the sealed remains in any regular trash or recycling receptacle – even if the receptacle is damaged for removal from the property.
  • You may choose to bury the animal(s) on your property. Take care to avoid digging near any water sources such as creeks, streams or ponds and avoid underground utility lines. If you do not know where the utility lines are located, check with your utility company before digging. Please place remains at an acceptable depth (~3 feet) so they are not disturbed during weather events such as a heavy rain.

Disposing of Large Animals (including livestock) Remains:

Owners may take animal remains to an approved disposal facility or bury them onsite, according to the guidelines below. It’s important for environmental, health, and safety reasons to follow these procedures for the handling and disposal of animal remains.

Emergency guidelines for the Camp Fire incident allow for the Neal Road Waste and Recycling Facility, located at 1023 Neal Road, Paradise, to accept animal remains:

  • The Neal Road facility accepts animal remains from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm daily.
  • Call the facility scale house at (530) 879-2397 thirty minutes before arrival.
  • Transportation may be provided either by licensed operators or by individuals.
    • The following local companies are licensed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to haul carcasses. Please contact for availability and pricing.
      • One Last Ride | (530) 990-2231
      • Into the Sunset | (530) 570-8859
      • JM Livestock Hauling | (916) 300-9744
      • Animal Carcass Removal | (866) 487-3323
  • All loads must be tarped.
  • The driver must be prepared to unload the animal(s) without assistance.
  • Cash or local check is required (no credit cards).

Large Animal Disposal Costs Neal Road Facility (horses, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, etc.)

  • $60 for special burial fee and $42.11 a ton. For example, a horse weighing 1,000 pounds will cost $21.05 (tonnage fee), plus $60 for a total $81.05.

Small Animal Disposal Costs at Neal Road Facility (dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, etc.)

  • $10 for single small animal (remains must be bagged). Large loads are $42.11 per ton and subject to $60 special burial fee.

On-Site Burial of Livestock Remains:

  • Disposal at least 150 feet downslope of the nearest domestic well
  • Do not dispose of animals in saturated soils or swales
  • 5 feet of cover over top of animal
  • Flag location for homeowner
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