As covered in our August CDQAP newsletter, veterinarians using barbiturates to euthanize livestock must mark the forehead with an orange “B.” Producers will sometimes use paint stick “B” in a variety of colors to indicate a beef cow, bucket cow or Banamine etc.
Recently, at least one dead hauler has refused to pick up mortalities with orange “B”s anywhere on the carcass, not just those marked on the forehead. Producers wanting to avoid confusion with rendering pickup should avoid using “B” in orange paint-stick anywhere on the carcass. Alternatively producers could switch to another letter like “C” for cull or “M” for medicated.