Cypress Valley Meat Company: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2024 (USDA)

313.1

At approximately 0835 hours, I, CSI REDACTED, and CSI REDACTED were conducting HATS Category Observation of Slips and Falls task. I saw that there were several establishment employees working on something at the pen alley ramp area leading to the entrance of the knock box. When CSI REDACTED and I got to the area near the knock box entrance we observed the following: A black cow was laying in the pen’s alley ramp area and had its head stuck between the outer metal wall of the pen’s alley and the concrete foundation. The establishment’s employees tried to get the cow’s head pushed back into the alley ramp area but was unsuccessful. The cow was vocalizing, had foamy saliva dripping freely and had loud huffing exhalations. A plant employee put a towel over the cow’s eyes and attempted to calm her. Mr. REDACTED, Plant Manager, arrived and instructed his employees to remove the pins that attached the metal outer wall panel so that the cow could get its head unstuck. At approximately 0905 hours, the cow was able to get her head unstuck. At approximately 0907 hours, I placed U.S. Reject tag number B42001370 on the establishment’s knock box and informed Mr. REDACTED that this was a noncompliance with 9 CFR 313.1(a) for humane handling. The establishment’s immediate corrective action was to place grid-like metal panels that they zip tied to the alley way’s metal wall. The zip ties are all facing outward and should not harm animals as they pass through the alley way. A welder was called to come to the establishment to permanently attach the grid-like panels to the alley way’s metal wall. After the immediate corrective actions were implemented, the regulatory control actions were released at approximately 1115 hours.