Animal Parts Dumped On Riverside County Roadway

Sheriff’s deputies were searching today for whoever has been dumping dead animals in trash bags on roadways near Temecula.

Nearly 30 trash bags with animal carcasses and parts have been found over the past week in the area near state Route 79 and Anza Road, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department reported.

The animals were identified as turkeys, emus and goats. Several residents have been calling the sheriff’s dispatch center because they believed the odor from the decaying animals were rotting human bodies.

Riverside County Animal Control said it’s not a case of animal cruelty. Spokesman John Welsh said they think the heat killed the animals and the owner dumped the bodies because it’s easy, but it’s also illegal.

Natalie Redding owns Namaste Farm near one of the dumping sites. She says it’s probably an amateur animal shelter who doesn’t know how to take care of their sick livestock.

“So they end up being animal hoarders and a lot of the animals will have come sick or come very very thin and what happens is they end up dying and don’t know how to dispose of them. It’s horrible,” said Redding.

Anyone who sees the discarding of trash bags on the roadways in these areas is asked to call the sheriff’s department at (951) 696-3000.