SAN MARCOS — Texas State University's plan to build the nation's largest "body farm" of cadavers is on hold after scrapping its proposed site amid concerns that buzzards could endanger nearby planes.
The university will now scout a new location for what will be only the third body farm in the nation. The school had hoped to begin burying bodies later this year.
By burying cadavers and studying human decomposition, researchers aim to help police better solve questions like time and manner of death at crime scenes.
Texas State's proposed 17-acre site was on Texas Highway 21 near the San Marcos Municipal Airport. But after meeting with the airport's commission Tuesday, the university quashed the plan out of concerns that buzzards would pose a risk to pilots.
"While the increased risk might be very small, it cannot be completely eliminated, and we cannot go forward with the Highway 21 site," Texas State provost Perry Moore said.
Plans for the site included a razor-wire fence around the property, vulture-proof cages to protect exposed bodies and a 70-foot grass buffer around the site to absorb rain runoff.
Residents near the proposed site complained about coyotes and diminished property values, but Texas State officials had been unmoved by those concerns.
The nation's two existing body farms are operated by the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C.
The university will now scout a new location for what will be only the third body farm in the nation. The school had hoped to begin burying bodies later this year.
By burying cadavers and studying human decomposition, researchers aim to help police better solve questions like time and manner of death at crime scenes.
Texas State's proposed 17-acre site was on Texas Highway 21 near the San Marcos Municipal Airport. But after meeting with the airport's commission Tuesday, the university quashed the plan out of concerns that buzzards would pose a risk to pilots.
"While the increased risk might be very small, it cannot be completely eliminated, and we cannot go forward with the Highway 21 site," Texas State provost Perry Moore said.
Plans for the site included a razor-wire fence around the property, vulture-proof cages to protect exposed bodies and a 70-foot grass buffer around the site to absorb rain runoff.
Residents near the proposed site complained about coyotes and diminished property values, but Texas State officials had been unmoved by those concerns.
The nation's two existing body farms are operated by the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C.
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