New Angus, LLC: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2024 (USDA)

313.2

On 2/19/2024 at 0550 hours while performing Humane Handling HATS Task Category IV Ante Mortem Inspection it was noted that there was no water in the drinker receptacles in pens 1, 3, 5 and 7. Maintenance was called to correct the problem and water began to flow within 10 minutes. Some cattle drank water as they noticed the flow had returned but there was no distress or urgency to drink water. A thermometer in the center of the pens about 2 feet above the cattle read 70 degrees F. Barn Supervisor REDACTED was notified of the Non-Compliance with 9CFR313.2(e) requiring water in holding pens.

313.1

On 2/14/2024 at 0715 hours IPP was called to the barn to diagnose a NAD steer and observed the following noncompliance with HATS Category IV – Antemortem Inspection. The second rail from the bottom on the gate of pen five had duct tape holding the rail to the vertical stile. Barn Supervisor REDACTED was notified that the gate had duct tape on the prior day and had not since been repaired. 9CFR313.1(a) states loose boards or broken planking and un-necessary openings where the head, feet or legs of an animal may be injured shall be repaired. The gate latch was tagged with U.S. Rejected number B22024730. I informed REDACTED of the forthcoming noncompliance.

313.2

At 0815 hours I was called out to the barn to do antemortem (AM) on a special group of steers. I completed the AM on four loads and at approximately 0900 hours I was watching the fifth truck unload, HATS Task Category II Truck Unloading when I observed the following non-compliance. I noticed REDACTED Barn Red Hat supervisor kneel in the unloading alley. I moved in closer to see him trying to hold a steer down to the floor. The truck had rolled away at least ten feet, and the steer was on the floor of the alley with his hind quarters hanging over the edge. Suddenly, the steer moved and fell over the edge, about four feet to concrete outside the barn and was loose in the driveway. Several plant employees and the truck drivers tried to capture the steer in the corner door between harvest and the barn, but the steer ran past them without slowing down. The plant has a ten-foot-tall chain-link fence surrounding the perimeter and the guards were called to ensure all gates were closed. Several attempts were made to slowly capture the animal with out accomplishment. At 1020 hours the last observed attempt to capture the animal by the corner door was unsuccessful. I informed REDACTED VP of Operations of the non-compliance with 9CFR313.2. The animal made its way to the south side by the slough. The animal laid down and plant employees backed off. I went back to the office at 1044 to do dispositions. At 1130 I was informed the steer had been shot and a security knock was placed with a handheld device. I went to the area to verify no further injury and proper stun, but the animal was observed in trailer #691 without denaturant or bled out. I informed REDACTED that I needed to verify it was denatured before it went to rendering. At 1330 I was able to verify the animal was denatured and bled out. No additional injuries were observed since last seen alive.

313.15(a)(1)

At approximately 0718 hours, while walking through the establishment’s hide-on slaughter area, IPP observed the following noncompliance with HATS Category IX - Conscious Animals on the Rail. IPP observed a bovine that was on the rail after being shackled and hoisted by one hind leg. The animal was righting itself in a rolling motion, attempting to move away from an establishment area Supervisor. The Supervisor was standing on the left side of the bovine in the blood pit, past the sticker location and holding the left ear. The bovine had not been bled and there were no cuts on the throat area. The tongue was not hanging out of the mouth, and the animal was not vocalizing. IPP observed the area Supervisor trying to stun the animal with a knife to the back of the head by cutting through the hide and then trying to insert the knife between the neck and cervical area. While the Supervisor was cutting with the knife, the bovine deliberately attempted to move away from the Supervisor by moving its head in an upwards rolling motion but was restricted due to being shackled. IPP called for the line to be stopped at 0720 hours and provided U.S. Reject tag No. B45243252 to the area Supervisor. The area Supervisor then applied the hand-held captive bolt stunner and rendered the animal unconscious with the line stopped. As the animal was not rendered unconscious on the first attempt, this is noncompliant with 9 CFR 313.15(a)(1). IPP notified Harvest Foreman REDACTED of the noncompliance and that USDA IPP would be contacting the District Office for further guidance. While IPP waited for the SPHV, the establishment restarted the line and IPP needed to request it to be stopped again. IPP notified Foreman REDACTED that restarting the line violated the Regulatory Control action. At approximately 0732 hours, the SPHV observed one large hole, 11/16” wide, centered at 5” from the pole of the head. The medial canthus of the eye was at 8” and two smaller holes approximately half the main bolt size were 3 1/4” below the pole. The plant offered to split the skull along the midline to be able to determine the path of the stunning attempts. The larger furrow of the main stun bolt was angled slightly rostral just grazing the front of the cerebrum. Both smaller secondary tunnels were parallel and angled slightly rostral passing through the cerebrum to the most rostral part of the brain stem.

313.15(a)(2)

On 11/16/23, at approximately 11:45 hours while performing HATS Category VIII, I SCSI REDACTED observed the following noncompliance: While observing the steers being driven back into pen #18, I observed one steer, after rounding the corner, go down on both forelegs to the knee, shortly after another three beef in a row, while rounding the corner, went down flat to belly and the final steer lost footing and went down on its hind quarters. Observation showed that no sand had been placed down which allowed mud and droppings to create a slick surface which may have contributed to the slips and falls. I verbally notified the Barn Supervisor Mr. REDACTED of this issue, and he offered immediate corrective actions of placing sand in the area to dry up the mud. I then verbally notified Director of Technical Services Ms. REDACTED of this issue and that a noncompliance would be issued.