Local Cuts Meat Company: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2022 (USDA)

313.15(a)(1)

On 9/14/2022 at 1015 hours, I, Dr. REDACTED SPHV observed the following non-compliance. A cow was adequately restrained in the head catcher of the shute in the kill floor. The stunner applied the stun gun to the cows head and fired . The cow remained completely conscious. The process was repeated with the same results. On the third try, the cow was rendered unconscious. The plant employee never realeased control of the process until the cow was completely unconscious. I imediated notified the kill floor supervisor REDACTED and VP REDACTED. I informed both that this was not in compliance of 9CFR313.15 that requires immediate unconsciousness when stunning.

313.15(b)(1)(iii),313.1

At 1415, on Thursday Aug 10th, while I, CSI REDACTED, was performing my online inspection duties-- I heard a steer struggling outside the sliding door. Plant personnel and I went out to the snake and discovered a steer had jumped up and hung his front legs in the open slot where the sliding door closes behind the knock box. He was standing on his hind legs. A steel plate has been added, however he managed to lodge both front legs in between the space that remains. I informed supervisor REDACTED, he had an animal stuck in the snake and an NR would be issued. The sliding door was pried opened to help free him but it he remained in the slot for a few more minutes and managed to free himself, cutting both front legs. I was in the office explaining to REDACTED, President, of the situation. During that time, the steer pulled himself free. REDACTED was not pleased with the fact I was letting REDACTED know what was happening and asked the courtesy of letting him tell REDACTED himself. The steer cut his front right leg to the bone at the pastern 180 degrees on the inside lateral. The front left cornett was cut approximately 2 square inches right above outward hoof. He remained ambulatory enough walk into the knock box and be stunned. I was able to get a close look at his injuries while the animal was shacked and hoisted. This is in violation of: 9 CFR 313.1 livestock pens driveways and ramps. 9 CFR 313.15(b)(1)(iii) stunning area design and construction.

313.15(a)(2),313.15(b)(1)(iii)

At 0820 I, REDACTED, CSI, observed the following non-compliance while performing the humane handling task. The cow was put into the knock box for stunning. While attempting to stun the animal the head restraint was unable to close properly without plant personnel holding it closed. Plant personnel tried to hold the head restraint closed, yet the animal was able to get the head and horns out of the restraint. I noticed excessive excitation of the animal trying to get it back into the head restraint. Then, 2 plant personnel held the latch closed to hold the animal restrained. This lasted approximately 7 minutes total to administer a knock to render the animal unconscious. This is in violation of 9 CFR 313.15(2) the driving of the animals to the stunning area shall be done with a minimum of excitement and discomfort. In addition to 9 CFR 313.15 (b) (iii) the stunning area shall be so designed and constructed as to limit the free movements of animals sufficiently to allow the operator to locate the stunning blow with a high degree of accuracy. I promptly notified REDACTED of the problem with the head chute and notified him of the non-compliance.

313.1

At approximately, 0735 while performing ante-mortem inspection, I, CSI REDACTED, observed a humane handling noncompliance while I was verifying HATS category VII, observations of slips and falls. A Brahman heifer was asked to cross the scales by employee, REDACTED, to be weighed. The rubber matting on the top of the scales is only attached at the top half across the top of the scale, preventing the animals from crossing the scales in a manner that prevents them from tripping or falling. The rubber matting tripped her up and she fell to her knees and tried to get up but the exposed slippery surface prevented her from being able to rise in a manner that did not cause harm and she scraped her knee. Retained tag 45676019 was applied, and no other cows crossed the scales until the flooring is fixed. Supervisor REDACTED was notified of my issuance of non-compliance. When REDACTED ,GM arrived he was also notified and is going to have the issue rectified. The establishment has failed to comply with the regulatory requirements of 9 CFR 313.1(b).

313.16(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII - Stunning Effectiveness On Tuesday January 4, 2022 at approximately 0912 hours while performing Stunning Effectiveness (Category VIII) as part of the Humane Handling Task, I, CSI REDACTED, observed the following noncompliance. An establishment employee attempted to stun a heifer in the knock box with a firearm (9mm handgun). I proceeded to walk out of the slaughter room for safety reasons. I heard two shots and walked into the room and observed that the second shot attempt failed to render the animal unconscious; the heifer remained standing on its four legs and continued to observe voluntary movement, eye tracking, and normal breathing. A third attempt was made immediately with the same firearm (9mm handgun), and the heifer was rendered immediately unconscious. I notified REDACTED of the stunning failure and that a noncompliance record would be written. This constitutes the failure of the establishment to comply with 9 CFR 313.16(a)(1). This noncompliance record is being associated with GNQ2811120521N/1, dated 12/21/2021. The continued failure may indicate that corrective actions and preventative measures were not effectively implemented or were not adequate to prevent reoccurrence.

313.15(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII - Stunning Effectiveness On Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at approximately 1112 hours while performing Humane Handling Stunning Effectiveness (Category VIII) Task, I, SPHV REDACTED, observed the following noncompliance. An establishment employee attempted to knock a heifer in the knock box with a handheld captive bolt device. The first attempt failed to render the animal unconscious; the heifer remained upright, and I continued to observe voluntary movement, voluntary vocalization, eye tracking, and normal, rhythmic breathing. A second attempt was made immediately with a firearm (9mm handgun) and the heifer was rendered immediately unconscious. A third safety knock via firearm was performed. I notified REDACTED of the stunning failure and that a noncompliance record would be written. The establishment identified ineffective captive bolt caliber as the cause of the stun failure. Preventive measures include utilization of a firearm (9mm handgun) for stunning of all cattle. This noncompliance represents a failure to meet the regulatory requirements of 9 CFR 313.15(a)(1). This noncompliance record is being associated with NR GNQ1312122315N/1, dated 12/15/2021. Corrective actions were either not applied or were ineffective.

313.15(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII - Stunning Effectiveness On Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at approximately 1056 hours while performing Humane Handling Stunning Effectiveness (Category VIII) Task, I, SPHV REDACTED, observed the following noncompliance. An establishment employee attempted to knock a steer in the knock box with a handheld captive bolt device. The first attempt failed to render the animal unconscious; the steer remained upright, and I continued to observe voluntary movement, eye tracking, and normal, rhythmic breathing. A second attempt was made immediately with the handheld captive bolt device to the forehead and the steer was rendered immediately unconscious. A third safety knock was performed. I notified REDACTED of the stunning failure and that a noncompliance record would be written. This noncompliance represents a failure to meet the regulatory requirements of 9 CFR 313.15(a)(1). A review of NR history at this establishment revealed no recent noncompliance records with a similar cause.