Valley Beef, Inc.: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2024 (USDA)

313.15(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On August 8, 2024, at approximately 10:45am the SPHV was observing stunning from the holding pens catwalk. The establishment employee had driven a fat steer into the stun box. The stun operator attempted to stun the animal with a handheld captive bolt (HHCB) device. The SPHV heard the device discharge and observed the animal remained standing in the stun box. The SPHV then heard another HHCB device immediately discharge. After the second device discharged, the SPHV observed animal collapsed into the bottom of the stun box. The SPHV proceeded to the stun box and observed two penetrating bleeding holes on the animal’s forehead. One hole was properly placed within the target zone on the forehead. The other hole was located offset to the animal’s right side. The SPHV took a verbal regulatory control action and notified the establishment employees to temporarily stop stunning. The SPHV then contacted the District Veterinary Medical Specialist who instructed the SPHV to not apply a U.S. Reject tag to the box given the establishment’s immediate and effective corrective actions. The stun box was verbally released to continue operations. The establishment management was verbally notified of the forthcoming noncompliance record. There have been no noncompliance records issued for the same root cause within the past 90 days. This establishment operates under a robust systematic approach to the humane handling of livestock.

313.1

HATS Category IV: Ante-mortem Inspection HATS Category VII: Slips and Falls At approximately 3:10pm on 3/25/24 the SPHV was conducting antemortem inspection from the catwalk above the holding pens. The establishment employee approached the front of a group of cows from across the gate attempting to push them backwards by slapping a rattle paddle against the wall. This resulted in the cows being pushed hard and backing up at a faster than normal walking speed in the holding pen. When this occurred, the SPHV observed a cow (backtag # 9453) who was pushed back, take one step back and then slip and fall, hitting the floor on her sternum. The SPHV noted that the floor there had standing water, as plant personnel use two large hoses to wash off and push cattle through the pens. Establishment personnel immediately recognized the cow had slipped and fallen then slowly moved other cows away from the downed cow. The establishment employees took a few minutes to allow the cow to rest before attempting to encourage her to rise through two uses of an electric prod. The animal was unable to rise and the establishment employee decided to humanely stun the cow. The cow was effectively stunned on the first attempt. No regulatory control action was taken due to the observed immediate and effective corrective actions taken by establishment personnel. The Boise Circuit Frontline Supervisor was contacted regarding the observed event and notified the Denver District Veterinary Medical Specialist. The establishment owner and establishment cow manager were verbally notified of the forthcoming noncompliance. This noncompliance record for the same root cause is being associated with NR # VEJ0017012118N issued on 1/18/2024. This establishment has implemented a robust systematic approach to the humane handling of livestock.

313.15(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII: Stunning Effectiveness On March 22, 2024, at approximately 10:30am the SPHV was observing stunning from the pens catwalk. The establishment employee had driven a fat steer with ear tag #9624 into the stun box. The animal was not securely loaded all the way, as its head was not restrained in the head catch. The stun operator attempted to stun the animal with a handheld captive bolt (HHCB) device. The SPHV heard the device discharge and observed the animal remained standing in the stun box. The SPHV then headed down to the stun box to observe closer. When the SPHV arrived down at the stun box, the stun operator had loaded the backup HHCB device and was trying to position the animal again to apply a second stun attempt. The establishment employee was able to get the animal into the head catch and apply the second stun. The animal was effectively rendered insensible after the second stun attempt. The SPHV observed two penetrating bleeding holes on the animal’s forehead. One hole was properly placed on an “x” between the eyes and poll. The other hole was located higher on the poll and offset to the animal’s right side. The SPHV applied U.S. Rejected Tag #B-45990420 to the stun box and verbally notified the slaughter supervisor. The SPHV then contacted the District Veterinary Medical Specialist who notified the Denver District Management Team. There have been no noncompliance records issued for the same root cause within the past 90 days. This establishment operates under a robust systematic approach to the humane handling of livestock.

313.1,313.2

HATS Category IV: Ante-mortem Inspection HATS Category VII: Slips and Falls At approximately 9:04am the SPHV was conducting antemortem inspection on a group of cows within the indoor holding pens. I observed the establishment employee attempted to drive the cow with backtag #8706 forward with a rattle paddle. As the cow attempted to step forward, her hindlimbs slipped and she fell hitting the concrete floor landing in sternal recumbency. The cow with backtag #8706 immediately attempted to rise making it up on her front limbs but was unable to fully rise as another cow in the group stepped on her tail and the cow with backtag #8706 fell to the floor again. The establishment employee then moved all cows in the group away from the cow with backtag #8706 and into another pen and gave the now downed cow a few minutes to rest before attempting to get her to rise. I observed the cow with backtag #8706 rise after this time. No regulatory control action was taken due to the observed immediate and effective corrective actions taken by establishment personnel. After this incident, the SPHV inspected the area of the concrete floor and observed that the floor was wet. The SPHV contacted the FLS and DVMS. The SPHV verbally notified the slaughter supervisor of the event and that a noncompliance record (NR) would be issued. This slip and fall occurred in the area of a previous slip and fall and is being associated with NR#VEJ4916102906N issued on 10/6/2024 for the same root cause. This establishment maintains a robust systematic approach to the humane handling of livestock.

313.1,313.2

HATS Category IV: Ante-mortem Inspection HATS Category VII: Slips and Falls At approximately 12:35pm on 10/6/23 the SPHV was conducting antemortem inspection from the ground. The establishment employee was attempting to drive cows using a rattle paddle through the holding pen as part of antemortem. A few cows were pushed hard and began moving faster than a normal walking speed in the holding pen. When this occurred, the SPHV observed these cattle run into a cow (ear tag #524, backtag # 4450) who was pushed back and slipped and fell hitting the floor on her sternum. The SPHV noted that the floor there was wet, as plant personnel use two large hoses to wash off and push cattle through the pens. Establishment personnel immediately recognized the cow had slipped and fallen and stopped pushing all cattle. Establishment personnel then slowly moved other cows away from the downed cow and opened a gate in front of the downed cow to allow her to rise on her own. The cow did not appear injured. No regulatory control action was taken due to the observed immediate and effective corrective actions taken by establishment personnel. This represents a noncompliance with 9 CFR 313.1(b) and 313.2(a). The Denver District Veterinary Medical Specialist was contacted regarding the observed event. The slaughter supervisor was verbally notified of the forthcoming noncompliance. There have been no noncompliance records issued for the same root cause in the past 90 days. This establishment has implemented a robust systematic approach to the humane handling of livestock.