Harris Country Meats: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2024 (USDA)

313.16(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 8/2/24 at approximately 0755 hours while performing the Livestock Humane Handling verification task on the kill floor of Harris Country Meats, I, SPHV REDACTED observed the following non-compliance. A slaughter floor employee moved a hog into the knock box. The slaughter floor stun operator then loaded a .22 magnum rifle and a .410 shotgun, at which point I exited the room. I heard the initial stun attempt with the .22 magnum and immediately heard the animal begin vocalizations. Upon entering the room, I observed that the stun had contacted the animal but was ineffective, as the animal was observed standing and attempting to back up in the knock box, bleeding from the forehead, and continuing to exhibit conscious vocalization. I exited the room again and the stun operator immediately took a corrective action stun with the .410 shotgun, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. The knock box was tagged with U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B41458343 and Establishment Administrator REDACTED was immediately notified of the non-compliance.

313.15(a)(3),313.15(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 6/25/24 at approximately 1400 hours while performing the Livestock Humane Handling verification task on the kill floor of Harris Country Meats, I, CSI REDACTED observed the following Non-Compliance. A slaughter floor employee moved a sheep into the knock box. The slaughter floor stun operator then loaded a handheld captive bolt (HHCB) device. I heard and saw the initial stun attempt with the HHCB and observed that the stun had contacted the animal but was ineffective, as the animal was observed to remain standing upright and shaking its head with blood coming out of its nose. I also noticed tracking eye movement. A second person on the slaughter floor then approached the animal with a knife and cut the throat of the still conscious animal. The animal then jumped, reacting to the cut, and shook its head more as it was still conscious and ultimately expired from the cut. I then immediately notified the Establishment Administrator REDACTED of the Non-Compliance. I then tagged the knock box with a U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B34367750

313.1,313.2

HATS Category III: Water and Feed Availability On 6/25/24 at approximately 1330 hours at Harris Country Meats M20686 I, CSI REDACTED witnessed the following Non-Compliance. While doing Antemortem checks on livestock out in the pens I noticed one drain cover was missing completely and in the pen with a number of swine animals in it. The drain uncovered was a circular hole in the ground about five (5) inches by five (5) inches. This issue can cause undue pain to an animal if it gets its leg in the hole. Also, while doing ante-mortem checks I noticed that three (3) pens two (2) containing swine animals and one (1) containing a sheep did not have any water in them. I then immediately notified the Establishment Administrator REDACTED of the Non-Compliance with 9 CFR 313.2(e) and 9 CFR 313.1(a)

313.15(a)(1),313.15(a)(3)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 6/18/24 at approximately 0800 hours while performing the Livestock Humane Handling verification task on the kill floor of Harris Country Meats, I, CSI REDACTED observed the following Non-Compliance. A slaughter floor employee moved a bovine animal into the knock box. The slaughter floor stun operator then loaded a handheld captive bolt (HHCB) device and a .22 magnum rifle, at which point I exited the room. I heard the initial stun attempt with the HHCB, entered the room, and observed that the stun had contacted the animal but was ineffective, as the animal was observed standing upright and shaking its head with blood coming out of its nose. I exited the room again and the stun operator immediately took a corrective action stun with the .22 magnum rifle, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. I then notified the establishment administrator REDACTED of the Non-Compliance and subsequently tagged the knock box with a U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B20050522.

313.1

On 3/26/24 at approximately 0730 hours at Harris Country Meats M20686 I, CSI REDACTED witnessed the following Non-Compliance. While doing Antemortem checks on livestock out in the pens I noticed one drain cover was taken off and laid to the side of it in the pen with a bovine animal in it. The drain uncovered was a circular hole in the ground about five (5) inches by five (5) inches. This issue can cause undue pain to an animal if it gets it's leg in the hole. I then immediately notified the Establishment Administrator REDACTED of the Non-Compliance.

313.16(a)(1),313.16(a)(3)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 3/8/24 at approximately 0945 hours while performing the Livestock Humane Handling verification task on the kill floor of Harris Country Meats, I, CSI REDACTED observed the following Non-Compliance. A slaughter floor employee moved a bovine animal into the knock box. The slaughter floor stun operator then loaded the .22 magnum rifle, at which point I exited the room. I heard the initial stun attempt, entered the room, and observed that the stun had contacted the animal but was ineffective, as the animal was observed standing upright and shaking its head with blood coming out of its nose. The stun operator immediately reloaded the .22 magnum rifle, I exited the room again and the stun operator delivered an immediate and effective corrective action stun, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. I then notified the establishment administrator REDACTED of the Non-Compliance and subsequently tagged the knock box with a U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B25705789.

313.16(a)(1),313.16(a)(3)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 3/1/24 at approximately 1500 hours while performing the Livestock Humane Handling verification task on the kill floor of Harris Country Meats, I, CSI REDACTED observed the following Non-Compliance. The slaughter floor stun operator moved a swine animal into the knock box. He loaded the .410 shotgun, at which point I exited the room. I heard the initial stun attempt, entered the room, and observed that the stun had contacted the animal but was ineffective, as the animal was observed standing upright and shaking its head. The animal then collapsed to the ground and then stood back up. The stun operator immediately reloaded the .410 shotgun, I exited the room again and the stun operator delivered an immediate and effective corrective action stun, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. I then notified the establishment administrator REDACTED of the Non-Compliance and subsequently tagged the knock box with a U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B25705809. This Non-Compliance is linked to a previous noncompliance of the same cause NR number WWF5613024723N.

313.16(a)(1),313.16(a)(3)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 2/23/24 at approximately 1415 hours while performing the Livestock Humane Handling verification task on the kill floor of Harris Country Meats, I, CSI REDACTED observed the following Non-Compliance. The slaughter floor stun operator moved a beef animal into the knock box and utilized the squeeze mechanism to restrain the animal. He loaded the .22 magnum rifle, at which point I exited the room. I heard the initial stun attempt, entered the room, and observed that the stun was ineffective, the animal was observed standing upright with an obvious wound from the stun attempt on its head and was also shaking its head. The stun operator immediately reloaded the same .22 magnum firearm. I exited the room again and the stun operator delivered an immediate and effective corrective action (2nd) stun, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. I then notified the plant manager REDACTED and establishment administrator REDACTED of the Non-Compliance and subsequently tagged the knock box with a U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B25705784. This Non-Compliance is linked to a previous one of the same cause NR number WWF4710011230N.

313.16(a)(1),313.16(a)(3)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 1/30/24 at approximately 0915 hours while performing the Livestock Humane Handling verification task on the kill floor of Harris Country Meats, I, CSI REDACTED observed the following Non-Compliance. The slaughter floor stun operator moved a swine into the knock box and utilized the squeeze mechanism to restrain the animal. He loaded the .22 magnum rifle, at which point I exited the room. I heard the initial stun attempt, entered the room and observed that the stun was ineffective, the animal was observed thrashing around exhibiting a righting reflex, and exhibiting conscious vocalization. The stun operator immediately reloaded the firearm. I exited the room again and the stun operator delivered an immediate and effective corrective action stun, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. I then notified the plant manager REDACTED of the Non-Compliance and subsequently tagged the knock box with a U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B25705815.

313.16(a)(1),313.16(a)(3)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 12/08/2023 at approximately 0719 hours while performing HATS verification activities on the kill floor, I, CSI REDACTED observed the following noncompliance: The establishment brought one bovine and secured it in the knock box and the stun operator made the first attempt shot with a .22 shot gun. The first shot was observed to contact the animal but was ineffective as the bovine was shaking its head and stepped backwards, while standing on all four limbs. The stun operator reloaded and delivered an immediate and effective corrective action stun, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. The knock box was tagged with U.S. Reject/Retained Tag# B30471080 and REDACTED, Assistant Manager, was notified of the observed noncompliance, and of the regulatory control action.

313.16(a)(3),313.16(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 11/14/2023 at approximately 0829 hours while performing HATS verification activities on the kill floor I, CSI REDACTED, observed the Stun Operator attempt to stun a hog. The Stun Operator positioned himself inside the Knock box and made the initial stun attempt with a .22 magnum Rifle. The shot was observed to contact the animal but was ineffective, as the animal remained standing on all four limbs, bleeding from the stun wound, and backing away from the stun operator. The stun operator reloaded the rifle and delivered an immediate and effective corrective action stun attempt, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. The knock box was tagged with U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B41458342 and REDACTED, Establishment Administrator, was notified of the observed non-compliance, and of the regulatory control action.

313.16(a)(3),313.16(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On 10/03/2023 at approximately 0824 hours while performing HATS verification activities on the kill floor I, CSI REDACTED, observed the Stun Operator attempt to stun a steer. The Stun Operator utilized the squeeze panel and made the initial stun attempt with a .410 Rifle. The shot was observed to contact the animal but was ineffective, as the animal remained standing on all four limbs, bleeding from the stun wound, and vocalizing. The stun operator reloaded and delivered immediate and effective corrective actions with the same rifle, rendering the animal insensible, and it remained so thereafter. The knock box was tagged with U.S. Rejected/Retained Tag #B41458335 and REDACTED, Assistant Manager, was notified of the observed non-compliance, and of the regulatory control action.