Open Range Beef, LLC: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2022 (USDA)
See the detail of the non-compliance of humane livestock handling that the USDA observed at the Open Range Beef, LLC slaughterhouse establishment in 2022.
You can also see other establishments that were non-compliant in 2022.
313.15(a)(2),313.2
16Dec21, pens/alley, approximately 1005. HATS VI: Electric Prod Use While standing in the pens/knock box chute area, I observed a team member attempting to move a cow into the knock box. The cow was not co-operating, and the plant employee looked frustrated and proceeded to repeatedly bounce and discharge a cattle prod along the cow's spine, back and hip areas. The animal was not vocalizing but was frantically jumping and kicking out without moving forward. I would estimate the cattle prod was discharged at least 4 or 5 times in approximately 10 seconds. REDACTED, QA supervisor was present and we both yelled for the actions to stop. I took regulatory control and stopped any further activities and called Dr. REDACTED to come to the pens and review the situation. The employee was replaced with a trained and experience pens employee. The offending employee was removed from the pens for retraining and counselling. Slaughter was resumed while Dr. REDACTED contacted Dr. REDACTED. 2 more animals were knocked prior to plant shut down. This is a non-compliance with 9 CFR 313.2(b), excessive prod use. No prior NR's were issued for this regulation in the past 90 days.
313.2,313.15(a)(2)
Tuesday October 12, 2021 at approximately 0730 hrs, after performing ante-mortem inspection, I was observing truck unloading in the ante-mortem pens, when I observed the following noncompliance. A company employee driving cattle down the chute/alleyway was using a rattle paddle. The dairy cow had stopped in the alleyway just short of entering the stunning box. I observed the company employee use excessive force by raising the rattle paddle shoulder level, aggressively hitting the cow 5-6 times in the hip and round area to get the cow to move forward. The cow did not move nor show any discomfort. However, due to the aggressive action by the plant employee using excessive force with the rattle paddle, I took a regulatory action and rejected the stunning area with US Reject Tag NO. B38182591. Slaughter Manager REDACTED was notified of the humane handing compliance and the failure to meet the requirements of 9 CFR 313.2 and 313.15(a)(2). The company provide the following corrective actions, the employee was terminated and all company personnel in the ante-mortem and stunning areas were retrained on livestock humane handling. After the corrective actions had been implemented, the regulatory withholding action/US Reject tag was removed at approximatley 0810 hrs.
