Powell Meat Company LLC: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2024 (USDA)

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

HATS Category VIII - Stunning Effectiveness On 7-03-2024, at approximately 0716 hours, I CSI REDACTED was performing a Humane Handling task for stunning effectiveness (HATS Category VIII). I observed a lamb on the slaughter floor in the knock box. I observed the plant employee using a 22-caliber rifle and was using 22 shorts (bullet). I observed him placing the end of the barrel directly on the top middle of the lamb’s skull, behind the ears. He executed a shot and the lamb remained conscious, remaining standing and not vocalizing, and was alert with its eyes opened. The plant employee then continued with a 2nd stun attempt, again with the end of the barrel in the same location. After the 2nd attempt, the lamb still remained conscious, was still standing, and was able to look around with its eyes. He chambered another 22-short bullet into the rifle and placed it in the same location on the back of the skull for the 3rd stun attempt. After the 3rd attempt, the animal remained conscious, went down in the hind end and kept its head up. On the 4th stun attempt with shot placement in the same location, the lamb remained standing on the front two legs with its head remaining in the upright position. On the 5th stun attempt, with shot placement in the same area on the skull, the lamb was rendered unconscious. I immediately placed my U.S Reject tag # NO. B-45 619889 on the knock box and informed Plant Manager REDACTED of my observations and the forthcoming noncompliance for this egregious event and failure to meet 9 CFR 313.16 (a) (1) and 9 CFR 313.16 (a) (3).