What did the dead animal carcasses symbolize?

I always thought they were supposed to be a metaphor for the "poisonous" atmosphere that pervaded the town.








"You met me at a very strange time in my life"

The carcasses were rotting and covered in flies. I took it to symbolize America's moral decay, which was the film's prevailing theme.

I think they were there to represent how putrid and stinking the film was.