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Donkey carcasses left lying around in Pahrump

Posted at 11:34 PM, Dec 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-06 17:11:01-05

People living in Pahrump are dealing with issues related to all the donkeys living in their town.

Steven Lee, a Pahrump resident, says there seem to be way more donkeys roaming around compared to years past.

"This year in particular I counted over 50," said Lee. "Might have been between 50 and 55 just in one herd."

Because of that, more of them are getting hit and killed on the roadway. Lee found three donkey carcasses a few hundred feet off the roadway, on private property in the desert.

Lee says, in the past, when donkeys were hit, they were disposed of properly. It appears the proper procedure for removing dead animals was not used for these donkeys.

Lee says it ended up stinking up the whole area.

"About a week after they were hit, you can really start to smell them," he said. "It was for a little bit too and I probably live about a half mile away from here and it was almost like standing next to them."

Lee and his neighbors want something done.

"I wouldn't appreciate it if someone dumped a dead animal onto my property and that's what I'm more outraged about," said Lee. "I would like to see it handled as far as something set up for somebody to come and pick up these animals when something like this does happen."

After making some calls to multiple agencies, 13 Action News learned NDOT is responsible for removing the carcasses. A spokesperson for NDOT says they will check on this situation immediately.

NDOT also is working on adding more wildlife crossings in rural areas near highways to eliminate so many animals dying from being hit by cars.