Barnard Processing: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2025 (USDA)

313.1

HATS Category IV: Antemortem Inspection On November 7, 2024, at approximately 0717 hours I, (CSI REDACTED) was presented with a pen card for inspection of one beef by an establishment employee, REDACTED I performed a Category IV - Antemortem inspection, with no issues or concerns and signed off the pen card. At approximately 0843 hrs. I stepped outside the kill floor to perform other inspections activities. At this same time Plant owner, Mr. REDACTED and his son, REDACTED went into the pen area to bring the animal into the knock box. When I came back into the kill floor area, at approximately 0847 Mr. REDACTED notified me that the animal had died while they were trying to transport it from the pen to the knock box. I immediately went into the pen area to see what had happened. I found the beef dead, laying on its belly and four legs with the head sticking through the metal fence. It appeared as it had attempted to break free from the pen. Mr. REDACTED informed me that while they were trying to get the animal to walk, it started rapidly moving in circles and ran onto the metal fence breaking the welds on one of the shafts and breaking it off. He also stated that the livestock attempted to get out aggressively between the broken fence then dropped to the ground dead. I notified Mr. REDACTED of the noncompliance and that I would reject the establishment’s animal holding pen with U.S reject tag B-45067100 until acceptable repairs and modifications can be made to the pen area. Livestock holding facilities are expected to safely accommodate the class of livestock being harvested and must be maintained in good repair to prevent pain or injury to the animals. However, your holding pens were insufficient for this animal. The establishment failed to meet regulatory requirements of 9CFR 313.1(a).