Yes, for hogs especially, the growth/feeding curves don't leave producers much room time wise or space wise. It was a very sad waste.
The death rate amongst slaughterhouse workers last spring / summer was atrocious, and a couple of the plants denied there was even an issue. One plant had managers betting on the death total amongst workers at the plant.
I think that composting beats sending a carcass out for burial in a landfill, but I understand concerns about disease and water table contamination. We no longer have a rendering plant in the area, so the choice is compost or landfill. We prefer to compost when we have the chance, but size of the animal and the time of year make a difference. We lost a horse last spring and couldn't get out (hillsides too slippery for the tractor) to bury or compost the remains so it was landfill time. Mercifully, this is not a common occurrence for us.
All the best,
Peter