Double S Meats: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2023 (USDA)
See the detail of the non-compliance of humane livestock handling that the USDA observed at the Double S Meats slaughterhouse establishment in 2023.
You can also see other establishments that were non-compliant in 2023.
313.15(a)(1)
HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at approximately 0920 hours, while observing a livestock humane handling verification task, I, the SPHV observed the following events. The new stun operator applied a stunning attempt on a Hereford cross steer with a hand-held captive bolt (HHCB) device. The HHCB device discharged, but the steer moved his head, and the attempt completely missed the animal. The stun operator immediately reloaded the same HHCB device and applied the first attempt to make contact to stun the animal. I observed the steer remain conscious and standing as the bolt had contacted the head approximately 2 inches rostral into the frontal sinus. The animal did not vocalize and was calm but there was blood dripping down the head and through the nostrils. The stun operator immediately reloaded the same HHCB device for a second stun attempt. The bolt contacted 1 inch to the right of the initial stun hole. I observed the steer remain standing and conscious, but it did not vocalize. Immediately, a different establishment employee took over stunning after reloading the same HHCB device and applied a third stun attempt approximately 1 inch to the left of midline. I observed the steer drop as being rendered insensible and was rolled out of the stun box. The establishment employee began to stick to bleed the animal, but immediately stopped when the animal tensed, and I observed labored rhythmic breathing. The establishment employee (second stun operator) immediately retrieved the same HHCB device, reloaded, and applied a security stun which fully rendered the animal insensible. I placed US Reject tag B16498042 on the stun box and verbally informed the Plant Manager to halt stunning until further notice due to the observed noncompliance. I verified penetration of four stun holes on the skull of the dressed head. The Denver District Management Team was notified through supervisory channels. There have been no noncompliance records issued for same root cause.
