A system and method for storing, selecting and sorting animal carcasses for fabrication. A storage area has at least one storage rail upon which carcasses may be stored. A feed rail leads to the storage area. Carcasses are selected from the storage area based on a first set of criteria and are transferred to an exit rail. The selected carcasses can be sorted based on a second set of criteria using a sorting rail connected to the exit rail. Carcasses are selected and sorted based on carcass information stored in a database based on identification codes associated with each target. A processor compares the carcass information with the desired criteria and identifies carcasses meeting the criteria using one or more readers positioned near the storage rail or exit rail.