Bay Area Ranchers' Cooperative, Inc. (Mobile Slaughter Unit): Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2022 (USDA)

313.15(a)(1)

On 7/6/2022 at approximately 0620 at M47584, I, Dr. REDACTED SPHV, while observing stunning effectiveness, observed the following non-compliance.  The first lamb of the day to be slaughtered required four knocks to render it unconscious.  After the first stunning attempt with a handheld captive bolt device, the lamb remained standing and breathing with no eye movement or vocalization.  The animal was restrained in the small animal knock box and was not observed to be leaning or supported in any manner by the knock box.  The establishment took immediate corrective action to use their backup device to stun the animal for a second time, within five seconds.  The animal remained standing and breathing.  The establishment employee re-loaded the device and applied a third stun to the same area as the first two (midline between the eyes), which was again ineffective.  The final fourth stun successfully rendered the animal unconscious, and was applied slightly higher (approximately 1 inch) than the other attempts.  The time interval between the initial attempt and the successful stun was approximately 20 seconds.  I applied US Rejected tag B26 819491 to the knock box to at 0620 hours and informed Mr. REDACTED, USDA Quality Assurance Lead, that no further stunning may occur. After the establishment skinned the head, I observed three holes on the lamb skull.  One hole, which was larger than the others, was midline, just below the eyeline, and was the location where the establishment attempted the two stuns.  A second hole was present between the eyes but more lateral; the hole was 1 inch off midline towards the left eye.  The third hole was on midline approximately 1 inch above the eyes and was the effective stun attempt.  This NR is linked to a previous Livestock Humane Handling NR AON4910050602N issued on 4/29/2022, where an animal regained consciousness and was successfully stunned after four attempts. This event is an egregious noncompliance with 9 CFR 313.15(a)(1) and resulted in a Reinstatement of a Notice of Suspension issued to the establishment.

313.15(a)(3)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning effectiveness On Friday April 29,2022 at approximately 1220, I, CSI REDACTED, while observing stunning effectiveness at Est. 47584 Bay Area Rancher’s Cooperative, observed the following non-compliance. After properly restraining a beef cow in the chute, the stunner operator used a handheld captive bolt gun to administer the initial stun. The cow collapsed in the chute and the stunner operator opened the chute door, but its head was stuck in the corner of the restrainer box. The stunner operator used the loaded back-up captive bolt gun to immediately apply a second stun. After the second stun, the cow was lying down adjacent to the restrainer box, blinking repeatedly, as the stunner operator was reloading the captive bolt gun. As the stunner operator applied the third stun, the cow got up from the area adjacent to the restrainer box, turned to the left, and started walking around the outside of the holding pens. Mr. REDACTED, USDA Quality Assurance Lead, obtained the .223 caliber rifle from the facility storage container adjacent to the holding pens and was successful in rendering the animal unconscious with a rifle shot that penetrated the forehead.  Approximately 2 minutes passed between the third stun application and the rifle shot that stunned the animal.  I applied US Reject tag B26819487 to the restrainer box.  Dr. REDACTED, Frontline Supervisor, informed the establishment that no further animals could be stunned, however, they could process the cow.  As the establishment failed to ensure that the cow remained in a state of complete unconsciousness, the establishment is non-compliant with 9 CFR 313.15(a)(3). When Dr. REDACTED observed the head, 4 distinct holes were observed. One hole was midline on the forehead, approximately 3 cm lower than the recommended location, but tracked towards the brain.  One hole was approximately 2 cm left of lateral to the recommended location but tracked to the left away from the brain. Another hole was approximately 2 cm right of lateral but tracked right away from the brain. The rifle hole was slightly off center but directed towards the brain.  This event is an egregious noncompliance to 9 CFR 313.15(a)(3) and resulted in a Notice of Suspension issued to the establishment.

313.15(a)(1),313.15(a)(3)

On 2/3/22 at approximately 0630 hours, I, Dr. REDACTED, accompanied by CSI REDACTED, observed the following noncompliance while performing a Livestock Humane Handling HATS VIII Stunning Effectiveness task at M47584. The establishment stunner operator stunned a market hog with a handheld captive bolt gun, and the stun impacted the animal (bleeding hole on forehead centered just above the eyeline) causing it to collapse in the restrainer. After collapsing, the hog was blinking when the employee touched the eye and was breathing rhythmically. The stunner employee took no additional action and began preparing the chain to hoist the hog. I pointed out that the animal was still breathing rhythmically, and they may want to stun it again. The stunner operator began to reload the handheld captive bolt gun at that time and the hog began to move its head from side to side while an additional employee lifted the hog’s ear to see the eye tracking and focused. Just as the hog stood up on all four feet the stunner operator applied a second stun. The second stun was effective in rendering the animal unconscious, but there was approximately one minute in between knocks. I notified REDACTED, Manager, of the event, that the knock box would be tagged, and no further slaughter could occur. The knock box was tagged with U.S. Rejected tag No. B19890378. This event was an egregious noncompliance to 9 CFR 313.15 regulations and resulted in a Notice of Suspension issued to the establishment.