SC - Period finger foods

[Hupman, Laurie]

While we're all on the subject of chicken feet, I have an OT question.  A couple
of weeks ago, I called our township office to inquire about regulations for
raising chickens in a non-commercial-agriculture setting.  The nice lady told
me all the rules, then told me not so confidentially that unless my neighbors
complain about something, not only will nobody know, nobody will care to come
looking.  And, she said, they very rarely get complaints.

However, she did tell me about the one complaint that they have had recently.
 Someone was burying his chicken feet and beaks in his garden, and the neighbors
dog was digging them up and bringing them home.  While *I* would have thought
that the unrestrained dog digging up other peoples gardens would have been their
concern, apparantly I was mistaken.  She said that burying such chicken parts
is illegal in Pennsylvania.  She didn't know why, but was so grossed out by
the idea of beaks and feet that she didn't care.

So, does anybody know why it would be illegal to bury chicken bits?  Do they
carry notable diseases?  Short of eating them (the feet anyway,) what else are
you supposed to do with them?  Would they break down quickly in a compost heap?
 But, wouldn't the compost heap count the same as burying them in the ground?
 And, I don't want to attract rats and mice to my compost heap.  Are they easy
to grind up to use like bone meal?  I can guarantee you I will never get my
husband to eat the feet, and I'm trying to minimize what we get hauled away
as trash.  So, what can I do with these parts that won't get me in trouble with
the law?

Thanks!
Magdalena vander Brugghe