Hemps, Inc.: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2021 (USDA)
See the detail of the non-compliance of humane livestock handling that the USDA observed at the Hemps, Inc. slaughterhouse establishment in 2021.
You can also see other establishments that were non-compliant in 2021.
313.16(a)(1)
On June 28, 2021 at approximately 11:10am, while assessing HATS Category VIII, Stunning Effectiveness, as part of a routine humane handling task at Hemps Meats, the following noncompliance was observed: After driving a heifer into the knock box, kill floor supervisor, REDACTED, attempted to stun the animal with a .22 Magnum firearm as he routinely does. I was waiting just outside the kill floor door for safety reasons when I heard the shot fired, but did not hear the animal hit the ground. I looked into the knock box area from the doorway and saw that the heifer was still standing and breathing rhythmically. I backed out of the kill floor again as Mr. REDACTED was immediately ready to fire another shot with the same firearm. I heard a second shot and the sound of the animal immediately hitting the ground. I entered the kill floor to find that the second shot had been successful in rendering the animal unconscious. Upon observation of the head, two holes were observed, one hole lower than the target area and slightly off-center to the right and one hole central in the target area. This establishment does have a systematic approach to humane handling in place currently and stunning procedures were performed as described in the plan. This represents noncompliance with regulation 9CFR 313.16(a)(1), which requires the firearm stunning device to be applied in a manner that achieves immediate unconsciousness (one shot). Mr. REDACTED and Mr. REDACTED were notified of the noncompliance and the fact that an NR would be issued.
