University of Arizona Food Products & Safety Lab: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2022 (USDA)

313.15(a)(1)

On 7/13/22 at Est. 966, University of Arizona Food Product and Safety Lab, I SPHV Dr. REDACTED observed the following: At approximately 1126 hours while performing viscera inspection on beef carcass #10, I first heard the captive bolt gun discharge, then heard vocalization from a goat in the small livestock restrainer after the first stunning attempt. I turned around from the inspection station and observed a plant employee fidgeting with the captive bolt gun. Another employee came in from outside and took the handheld captive bolt gun from the first employee, loaded the captive bolt gun, and attempted to stun the goat a second time. At this point, I walked up to the small animal restrainer. I observed the 2nd employee reloading the captive bolt gun again, and I asked,  “Are you going to stun the animal again?” He stated he did not know. The small animal restrainer had a false floor engaged to prevent the animal from jumping out. Upon viewing the animal, the goat had very large horns that were set back on the poll of the skull and the head was faced down. I asked, “Is the animal was stunned?” The employee pulled the head up, and I waved my hand in front of the goat and observed eye tracking. I stated that they need to render the animal unconscious. The 2nd establishment employee stated that he could not get the captive bolt gun to fire behind the horns and asked if it was okay to shoot in between the horns. I stated that I could not make that decision for him, but that the animal needs to be stunned immediately. He lifted the goat’s head and shot the captive bolt gun in between the horns. This stun rendered the animal unconscious at 1127 hours. I informed Dr. REDACTED, Plant Manager, that the restrainer would be tagged for failure to effectively stun the animal on the first attempt, and I placed a U.S. Reject tag #B45644737 on the small restrainer box. Upon examination of the skinned head, there appears to be two holes on the forehead of the skull and third entry point between the horns. The first hole is approximately 1 inch down from the base of the horns at the top of the skull. A second hole is located adjacent to the first hole but closer to the base of the horns. A third hole is located caudally on the skull between the horns. A sagittal cut of the skull was performed to determine the entry points from the captive bolt. Two main entrance holes are seen transecting the skull. The anterior hole is perpendicular to the skull and did not enter the brain case but rather the sinus; since the two entry points were so close together there were no distinction between the two paths of the captive bolt. The posterior hole entered the cranium at the cerebrum of the brain, which was the third stunning attempt the establishment performed. This is a non-compliance per 9 CFR 313.15(a), (a) Application of stunners, required effect; handling. (1) The captive bolt stunners shall be applied to the livestock in accordance with this section so as to produce immediate unconsciousness in the animals before they are shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut. The animals shall be stunned in such a manner that they will be rendered unconscious with a minimum of excitement and discomfort. This resulted in a Notice of Suspension issued by the Alameda District Office at approximately 1500 hours.

313.15(a)(1)

HATS VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 1/26/22 at Est. 966 Food Product and Safety Lab during slaughter, I CSI REDACTED, observed the following: At approximately 0945, I observed steer #8 with its head secured in the head catch restrainer. REDACTED, Floor Supervisor, placed a handheld captive bolt gun to the head of the steer and discharged the captive bolt. The captive bolt penetrated the skull of the steer as there was blood visible on the forehead. The steer went to its knees on the front limbs with its head still captured in the head catch. I observed that the steer was slowly blinking, and its eyes were tracking. Mr. REDACTED quickly waved his hand over the eyes, and I observed blinking, eye movement, and vocalization. Mr. REDACTED quickly reloaded the handheld captive bolt gun and issued a second stun, which penetrated the skull, and the steer remained standing on its hind legs with its front legs buckled, still blinking at looking around. Mr. REDACTED grabbed the backup handheld captive bolt gun and attempted to fire the bolt, but it did not fire. He reloaded the backup device and again it did not fire the pin. Mr. REDACTED reloaded the primary handheld captive bolt gun, and the steer was rendered unconscious. During the process of the stunning (shots 1-4) the steer was making audible sounds and there was blood coming from the previous stun location and out its nostrils. Shots 1, 2, & 5 was fired with the pistol type captive stun bolt. Shots 3 & 4 the backup (cylindrical) captive bolt was used. No signs of consciousness were observed after the third stun attempt that hit the steer. At this time, I informed Mr. REDACTED I would be tagging the knock box, all knocking would cease, and I would be contacting my supervisors. While speaking to Dr. REDACTED, I saw Dr. REDACTED and informed him of what had happed. Tag # B27 767864 was attached to the knock box and slaughter was stopped for the day. This event was an egregious noncompliance to 9 CFR 313.15 regulations and resulted in an Administrative Enforcement Action (Notice of Intended Enforcement). Non Compliance CTN1416014719N-1 is linked to this Non Compliance for the same reasons.

313.15(a)(1)

On 1/19/22, at approximately 1047 hours while performing a humane handling verification task (HATS VIII: Stunning Effectiveness), I SPHV Dr. REDACTED observed the following non-compliance: I observed steer #10 enter the knock box at 1047 hours, and its head was secured in the head lock. Dr. REDACTED, Plant Manager, placed a hand held captive bolt to the head of the steer and discharged the captive bolt. The captive bolt penetrated the skull of the steer as there was a hole in the skull. The steer’s hind legs went down and front limbs fell to its knees, its head still captured in the head lock. I observed that the steer blink slowly and was eye tracking. Dr. REDACTED quickly waved his hand over the eyes and I observed an additional blink. Dr. REDACTED walked a few steps up to release the wall of the knock box so the animal could fall into the blood pit. When he went up to release the door, he observed that the animal was still conscious and grabbed the back up hand held captive bolt to knock the animal for the second time. About 20-30 seconds had elapsed between the first and second knock. No signs of consciousness were observed after the second knock. I then observed Dr. REDACTED knock the steer for the 3rd time. I walked up to the top of the knock box at 1049 hours and observed that the animal was rendered unconscious. I immediately placed U.S. rejected tag #B45644698 on the knock box and notified Dr. REDACTED of the regulatory control action placed on the knock box. After discussion with the Alameda District, I informed Dr. REDACTED that a noncompliance record would be issued for noncompliance with 9 CFR 313.15(a)(1): The captive bolt stunners shall be applied to the livestock in accordance with this section to produce immediate unconsciousness in the animals before they are shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut. The animals shall be stunned in such a manner that they will be rendered unconscious with a minimum of excitement and discomfort.

313.1

On 1/8/22, at approximately 1130 hours while performing an odd hour inspection humane handling task in the outside animal pens, I SPHV Dr. REDACTED, observed the following non-compliances: Covered cattle pen on the east side has excessive standing water and mud that has not resolved. The water and mud appear to be approximately 2-4 inches deep. No animals were kept in this pen. U.S. rejected tag #B45644695 was applied to this pen. Covered pig pen on the east side and center pig pen has multiple sharp edges protruding into the pen from exposed chicken wire edges and rusted metal ties to secure the chicken wire. The chicken wire and metal ties cover a portion of the water pipe that enters into the pen (about 1 to 1.5 feet long) and is about 2 feet high. Currently, there are 2 hogs in this pen. U.S. rejected tag #B45644691 was applied to this pen. The center covered pig pen has multiple sharp edges from exposed chicken wire protruding into the pen. The chicken wire covers a water pipe and is about 3 feet high. No animals are currently in this pen. U.S. rejected tag #B45644696 was applied to this pen. I notified Dr. REDACTED, plant manager, of the above findings and that a non-compliance record (NR) would be issued for not keeping the animal pens in good repair. These findings represent a non-compliance with 9 CFR 313.1.