729 Beef LLC: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2025 (USDA)

313.15(a)(2)

HATS Category V: Suspect and Disabled On 6-26-25 at approximately 1116hrs, while conducting HATS V, I observed several cows in the serpentine belt being crowded in line between two back-up gates where there should have been 2 cows waiting to enter the stun box. I observed 4 cows crowded in between this area of the serpentine which were unable to move freely. Upon further observations at the end of the serpentine belt I observed 2 cows down on the ground. The last cow was halfway on top of the 2nd to last cow that was completely down. The cow in front of the down cow was seen to be stepping on top and around the down cow’s head. I did not hear any vocalization. I observed the down cow struggling in an attempt to rise but was unable to get up due to the last cow being halfway on top of her. I notified the QA on the floor and informed her of the situation, and she asked the stun operator to move the cows and allow enough room for the down cows to get back up. Both cows were able to rise on their own and no evidence was seen that indicated injury to either cow. I informed the QA on the floor that a non-compliance will be issued. I tagged the stun box with a U.S. Reject tag NO. B-45775021. This is a noncompliance with 9 CFR 314.2(a). The Denver District Veterinary Medical Specialist was contacted through supervisory channels. There have been no noncompliance records written for the same root cause in the past 90 days. This establishment operates under a robust systematic approach to the humane handline of livestock.

313.15(a)(2),313.15(b)(1)(iii)

HATS Category IV: Ante-mortem Inspection At approximately 12:50 pm on May 7, 2025, the CSI was outside performing ante-mortem inspection in the holding pens. The CSI heard a loud commotion from inside the plant, with the sounds of many people yelling. The yelling continued and the CSI headed back to the plant to investigate and observed that the roll up door to the stun box was open. When the CSI made it to the roll up door, a live alert heavy calf came out of the stun box/blood pit area. The calf was very excited, pacing and breathing heavy. The animal had blood on the upper right shoulder and on its back. The CSI did not observe the animal slip and fall, however, the heavy calf appeared to have been down on its right side in the bleed pit due to the amount of blood on the animal’s coat. The CSI did not observe any injuries. The CSI notified their supervisor, and the supervisor verbally notified the plant management of the forthcoming noncompliance with 9 CFR 313.15(a)(2) and 313.15(b)(1)(iii). The FSIS supervisor directly observed the heavy calf to assess for injuries and noted that none were visible. The District Veterinary Medical Specialist was notified through supervisory channels. There have been no noncompliance records issued for the same root cause in the past 90 days. The establishment operates under a robust systematic approach to the humane handling of slaughter.

313.2

HATS Category III - Water and Feed Availability On January 20, 2025 starting at approximately 1PM I was in yards performing antemortem inspection. During antemortem inspection, I observed that two trailers unloaded cattle into holding pen 6. After finishing antemortem inspection, at approximately 1:42PM, I went to verify that the cattle in holding pen 6 had access to water. I observed that the water in the portion of the trough that provides water to cattle in holding pen 6 was completely frozen. There were 40 head of cattle in pen 6. No regulatory control action was taken as the establishment yards employee immediately used a shovel to break up and remove the ice from the water trough. The Plant Manager was verbally notified of the noncompliance. A review of recent records did not identify a recent noncompliance with a similar root cause and this NR will not be associated.

313.2

HATS Category II-Truck Unloading HATS Category III-Water and Feed Availability On 1/2/24 at 1536hrs while conducting HATS category III verification activities in the holding pens, IPP observed a large livestock trailer backed up at the unloading dock. IPP at this time observed that the trailer had cattle in it. IPP walked over to the driver and asked how long he had been waiting to unload the trailer while parked on official establishment premises. The driver informed IPP he had been waiting since 1400hrs to unload the cattle. No regulatory control action was taken as the driver immediately began to unload the cattle when IPP informed the driver that he could unload the cattle into any available open holding pen. No establishment personnel were present. The truck was being used as a holding pen for approximately 1.5 hours and no water was provided to the cattle while on official establishment premise. This is noncompliant with 9 CFR 313.2(e). The establishment QA Manager was verbally notified of the forthcoming noncompliance. A review of recent records did not identify a similar noncompliance with the same root cause and this NR will not be associated. This establishment operates under a robust systematic approach to the humane handling of livestock. The Denver District Veterinary Medical Specialist was notified through supervisory channels.