B & R Meat Processing: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2025 (USDA)
See the detail of the non-compliance of humane livestock handling that the USDA observed at the B & R Meat Processing slaughterhouse establishment in 2025.
You can also see other establishments that were non-compliant in 2025.
313.2
On Thursday, February 20, 2025, I, CSI REDACTED, while conducting a routine PHIS Livestock Humane Handling task, HATS Category III, Water and Feed Availability observed the following noncompliance: At 0803 hours the steer in pen 11 and the adult goats in pen 4 no accesses to liquid water. Each pen has an approximately 15-gallon water bucket which were frozen solid. The temperature when I arrived at the facility was -2F. The establishment has no means of preventing the water in the buckets from freezing. President/GM REDACTED was notified of the issue and forthcoming noncompliance. The establishment provided fresh water to the animals. The establishment rescheduled the remaining animals this week to allow for warmer weather. The establishment failed to meet the regulatory requirements of 9 CFR 313.2.
313.16(b)(2),313.16(a)(1)
On January 6th, 2025, while conducting a routine PHIS Livestock Humane Handling task, Hats Category VII, Stunning effectiveness observed the following noncompliance: At approximately 1105 hours the establishment attempted to render a cow unconscious via gunshot with a .45 caliber bullet. After the completion of the establishment's protocols and the shot was fired, I heard the cow vocalize and looked to verify unconscious. The cow was standing upright, alert and looking around. The establishment immediately set up for a second shot, I exited the kill floor to the designated area. After the shot was fired, I verified that the cow was unconscious. The cow had collapsed to the floor, had no reaction to external stimuli, no breathing, the eyes were still and nonresponsive. I took a regulatory control action and applied USDA Rejected tag No. B-46609983 to the knock box. After the head was removed the designated employee place the head on the head cradle and removed the hide around the gunshot wounds to demonstrate where the two gunshots entered the skull. The initial shot was properly placed but did not penetrate the skull, the copper jacketed bullet was flattened against the skull. I notified President/GM REDACTED of the issue and the forthcoming noncompliance. Mr. REDACTED stated that the cause of the failure was due to the use of a hollow point round. Hollow point rounds were accidentally mixed with the slug rounds. Establishments corrective action given is to remove all the hollow point rounds from the slaughter room gun cabinet and document on the corrective action log. The establishment failed to properly selection the ammunition used, and this led to a failure to render the cow immediately unconscious. The establishment failed to meet the regulatory requirements of 9 CFR 313.16(a)(1) and 313.16(b)(2).
313.1
On Thursday, December 19, 2024, I, CSI REDACTED while conducting a routine Livestock Humane Handling task for Category VII Slips and Falls observed the following noncompliance: At 0855 hours the designated employees for the livestock slaughter area were moving a steer from pen 5 to the knock box. The steer, when exiting pen 5 at a walking pace, slipped and the animals front knees made hard contact with the ground, the steer righted itself and proceeded along the walkway to the knockbox. The pen design has the animal taking a hard turn into the walkway. There was a thin layer of feces on the surface of the walkway in which there was a scuff/slip path visible where the steer's hoof had attempted to get traction during the slip. I took a regulatory control action and applied US Reject Tag No B-46609981 to pen 5. On 12/11/2024 a steer slipped in a similar manner when exiting Pen 5. Actions taken by the establishment were either ineffective or insufficient to prevent slips from occurring when moving animals out of pen 5. I notified Supervisor REDACTED and President/GM REDACTED of the issue and the forthcoming noncompliance. The establishment failed to meet the regulatory requirements of 9 CFR 313.1(b). The establishment does not have a robust systematic approach to humane handling. This noncompliance is being associated with noncompliance #XXC4609124511N-1 written on 12/11/2024 for similar issues.
313.1
On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, I, CSI REDACTED while conducting a routine Livestock Humane Handling task for Category VII Slips and Falls observed the following noncompliance: At 0831 hours the designated employees for the livestock slaughter area were moving a steer from pen 5 to the knock box. The steer, when exiting pen 5 at a walking pace, slipped and the animals front knee made hard contact with the ground, the steer righted itself and proceeded along the walkway to the knockbox. The outside temperature was below freezing, pen 5 had built up animal feces that filled in the built-in textured surface of the pen, which in some places was several inches thick, and the pen walkway design has the animal taking a hard turn into the walkway. I took a regulatory control action and applied US Reject Tag No B-46609978 to pen 5 due to the condition. After the steer had been shot and bled, I inspected the animals front left leg and it had bloody abrasion on it's left knee where it had made contact with the walkyway from the slip. I notified Supervisor REDACTED and President/GM REDACTED of the issue and the forthcoming noncompliance. The establishment's corrective actions were to clean pen 5 and the walkway. The built-up feces was removed, at approximately 09:30 I inspected the area and removed the tag. The establishment failed to meet the regulatory requirements of 9 CFR 313.1(b). The establishment does not have a robust systematic approach to humane handling.
313.15(a)(3)
On Thursday, October 17, 2024, I, CSI REDACTED, while conducting a routine PHIS Livestock Humane Handling task, HATS Category VIII, Stunning Effectiveness observed the following noncompliance At approximately 8:59 am the establishment stunned a market swine via a handheld captive bolt with inline rod driven using a 9X17mm blank cartridge. The animal was initially stunned and dropped, unconscious. The animal went down on its right side with part of its back resting against the wall. The bleeding cut was made immediately on the left side of neck. Blood loss was steady but not gushing, in the knock box where the animal dropped. After approximately 1 minute the animal blinked repeatedly, vocalized, and tried to right itself by attempting to roll off its shoulder onto its sternum, indicating a return to consciousness. The establishment employee stunned the animal a second time using the same handheld captive bolt in the same location on the skull. The second stun was effective, and the animal remained unconscious. I took a regulatory control action and applied USDA Reject tag #B-46609974 to the knock box. Supervisor REDACTED was notified of the issue and the forthcoming noncompliance. President/GM REDACTED was notified of the noncompliance and that the event was escalated to my supervisor. Mr. REDACTED stated that the cause was the skull thickness of older, larger animals (swine) and that the establishment would use gunshot method with 45 caliber rounds on older, larger animals to prevent reoccurrence. The establishment does not a robust systematic approach to humane handling. The establishment failed to meet the regulatory requirements of 9 CFR 313.15(a)(3).
