St. Joseph Meat Market: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2023 (USDA)

313.15(a)(1)

At approximately 07:50 hours, I (Dr. REDACTED, SPHV) observed the following noncompliance while routinely performing humane handling (HATS Category VIII - Stunning Effectiveness): An angus heifer was ineffectively stunned after the first stun attempt via hand-held, penetrating captive bolt device. The animal was in the restrainer (no head restraint is used in this facility) and was conscious as seen by standing, stepping in place, and tracking the nearby persons’ movements with its head and eyes. I observed epistaxis at this time, indicating the bolt fired and made contact. A secondary, pre-loaded, hand-held captive bolt device was readily available, and immediate corrective action was taken by the stunner to effectively render the animal unconscious. I directly observed both stunning attempts and the effective stun was placed higher and made contact more perpendicular to the forehead. On post-mortem inspection of the skull, the initial stun wound was centered on the forehead at the cross-section of the eyes and poll ends (purple hemorrhaging around the wound entry indicated that it was acute, but the older of the two). Probing with a steel indicated that the bolt entered the skull at a severe angle, pointing rostrally about 45 degrees. The second entry wound was approximately 3 cm higher and 1.5 cm off-center to the right on the forehead, with the bolt entering perpendicular to the skull. The harvest floor lead, Mr. REDACTED, was verbally notified of the forthcoming noncompliance and he verbally provided preventative measures before slaughter resumed. Management (Ms. REDACTED) was notified by me (Dr. REDACTED) via email of the forthcoming NR. This NR is being associated with a noncompliance that occurred on April 18, 2022, as documented in NR LZC2811040818N-1, with the associated cause being ineffective placement of stunning device. The preventative measure in response to the previous NR was employee training.