DETROIT – The Investigators on Local 4 are working to get answers after a viral social media post showed a group of people dumping animal skins into a dumpster in Detroit.
This all started with an Instagram post made just after 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 16, 2026. The Instagram post shows people dumping animal hides into a dumpster in Eastern Market and even leaving some hanging over the edge and off a dumpster lid.
There are slaughterhouses in the area, but how the skins of animals are being disposed is the question. Investigator Karen Drew has reached out to a variety of state and local departments to determine what is legal and what is against regulations.
Karen Drew spoke to city officials who said they would send out someone from Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED) within the hour.
As she was waiting, a truck pulled up, and started dumping more animal skins. This time, when the workers were dumping the skins, they made sure not to leave any animal hides exposed and hanging out of the dumpster.
A representative from BSEED also went to the site and took pictures. The city said a representative from BSEED is doing its own investigation to to find out which business this dumping is associated with and will have a conversation with the owner about the concerns.
Who regulates how animal remains are disposed?
Detroit is investigating, but said compliance falls within the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDARD).
MDARD said this appears it could be a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issue. They are still checking.
“Based on the information you provided, this entity and its disposal methods are inspected by USDA and not MDARD. That said, we will contact our USDA partners with these concerns. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service may have additional information to provide.”
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD)
We reached out to GFL Environmental who owns the dumpsters. No response yet.
We also reached out to Eastern Market. They sent us a statement saying, in part, that they were not aware of hides going into a dumpster or being left in the manner shown.