The bids included proposals to incinerate the carcasses, dissolve them with chemicals or microbes, bake them and bury them in a landfill.

Seven companies that submitted incineration bids included B & L Cremation Services of Largo, Fla., Hydrol-Pro Technologies of Zephyrhills, Fla. and Fireball First Green Bay Corp. of Menomonee, Mich. Five companies submitted bids to dissolve the carcasses, including Contracting Technologies Services of Madison.

Companies that submitted bids to render the carcasses, which includes cooking them and using the leftovers for various purposes, including animal feed, included Anamax Corp. of Howard and National Byproducts of Des Moines, Iowa.

Stericycle of Lake Forest, Ill., submitted the lone bid to dispose of the carcasses in a landfill.

The deadline for the bids was Thursday. The bids were sealed and no details could be released according to state statutes, DNR purchasing agent David Behn said.

Fourteen deer near the Mount Horeb area have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the first time it has been found east of the Mississippi River. The state plans to kill all the estimated 15,000 deer in a 287-square-mile area in an effort to eliminate the disease.

The DNR scheduled four special summer hunts to get a jump on wiping out the herd.

The third hunt is set to begin this weekend.

MCS of Poynette currently incinerates any carcasses taken during the summer hunts, DNR spokesman Greg Matthew said.

The agency also has extended the gun-hunt season in the zone from Oct. 24 thorough Jan. 31, DNR spokesman Greg Matthews said. The DNR expects it will have to dispose of at least 25,000 carcasses from that hunt.

DNR officials plan to meet next week to examine the bids and make recommendations to DNR Secretary Darrell Bazzell, who could award bids to any number of companies, said Joe Brusca, DNR air and waste regional director.