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Human Body Farm Plans Buried

By grrlscientist on May 11, 2007.

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Texas State University found that its plans to build a human "body farm" have been canceled due to fears of vultures flocking towards the smell of decomposing corpses. A human body farm is a facility where human corpses are placed out of doors and exposed to the elements so forensic scientists can better understand how the body decomposes over time. The nearby San Marcos Municipal Airport worried that the large circling birds could endanger aircraft while the neighbors were unhappy with plans to keep up to nine cadavers at the facility at any one time.

Plans for the site included a razor-wire fence around the property, vulture-proof cages to protect exposed bodies and a 70ft (21.3m) grass buffer around the site to absorb rainwater as it runs away.

However, airport officials and local residents felt the risks - both to pilots and to public health - remained too high, forcing officials to bury their plans.

Cited story.

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The original body farm at the University of Tennessee doesn't have issues with vultures, but raccoons. Very large raccoons.

Forgive my ignorance but, what is a body farm?

By Chris' Wills (not verified) on 11 May 2007 #permalink

i rewrote the story to explain what it is, sorry about that!

A human body farm is a facility where human corpses are placed out of doors and exposed to the elements so forensic scientists can better understand how the body decomposes over time.

Thank you, sounds interesting and complex

By Chris' Wills (not verified) on 12 May 2007 #permalink