JBS Plainwell, Inc.: Non-Compliance to Humane Livestock Handling in 2025 (USDA)

313.1

HATS Category IV Antemortem Inspection At approximately 0900 hours on 6/25/25, while conducting routine antemortem procedures in the livestock holding area, I, SPHV REDACTED, observed a steer entrapped by its hips between a swinging gate and the pole the swinging gate latches to at pen 10. The animal was standing calmly and not trying to move around. The establishment barn employees attempted to free the steer from the gate but could not. As such, the establishment then elected to use a captive bolt gun to stun the animal in place. The steer was rendered insensible on the first stunning attempt to the forehead, then security stuns were applied to the forehead and the poll region of the head with the same device. The animal was then bled out and removed from the area. As the gait was not in disrepair, I did not feel the need to tag it to prevent other animals from becoming entrapped. The barn supervisor, REDACTED informed me that they would be locking pen 10 gate between the sets of cattle as a preventative measure. The establishment was noncompliant with 9 CFR 313.1(a) Livestock pens, driveways, and ramps which states, “Livestock pens, driveways and ramps shall be maintained in good repair. They shall be free from sharp or protruding objects which may, in the opinion of the inspector, cause injury or pain to the animal. Loose boards, splintered or broken planking, and unnecessary openings where the head, feet, or legs of an animal may be injured shall be repaired.” This regulation was cited due to the entrapment resulting from a facility design that led to the bovine getting trapped between the pole and the gate. I notified QA Superintendent REDACTED of the noncompliance and that an NR would be issued for the establishment’s failure to comply with the regulatory requirements. A review of the past 90 days of noncompliance records indicates inspection personnel have not issued a noncompliance with the same root cause.

313.15(a)(1)

HATS Category VIII- Stunning Effectiveness On May 12, 2025, at approximately 0858 hours while verifying stunning effectiveness as part of a humane handling verification task, I, SCSI REDACTED, observed the following noncompliance. An establishment employee attempted to stun a beef cow that was agitated and pacing back and forth where it was confined in front by the knock box chute and the back by a steel partition in the single file chute just prior to the knock box. The establishment elected to stun the animal in the chute when it repeatedly refused to advance to the center track conveyor and knock box. The stunning operator was tracking the head movements of the beef cow and attempted to place the handheld gunpowder charged penetrating captive bolt gun several times on the forehead of the animal; however, the animal kept moving its head and the stunning operator was unable to make a stunning attempt. The animal then moved backwards and stopped at the steel partition. At that time, the stunning operator reached over and deployed the captive bolt gun to the poll region of the beef cow’s head. The stunning attempt failed to render the beef cow insensible, as it remained standing and then quickly moved slightly forward and then back again against the steel partition. The stunning operator immediately picked up the pre-loaded backup captive bolt gun and rendered the animal insensible on the second stunning attempt with a stun to the forehead. The stunning operator then picked up the third pre-loaded captive bolt gun and administered a security stun to the poll again. At that time, I took a regulatory control action and placed U.S Rejected Tag No. B40522880 on the knock box. The beef cow was then shackled, hoisted, and bled. One penetrating wound was observed in the poll area of the head, and one wound was observed to have hit the actual poll but with no penetration, and another penetrating wound was observed on midline of the forehead in the target area of the de-hided skull. I notified Operations Manager REDACTED and Barn Supervisors REDACTED and REDACTED of my observations. I later notified General Manager REDACTED and Technical Services Director REDACTED of the decision to issue a noncompliance record, and they informed me the stunning operators were in training at that moment, and I released the regulatory control action over the knock box. General Manager REDACTED and Technical Services Director REDACTED were notified of the noncompliance and the establishment’s failure to comply with the regulatory requirements prescribed in 9 CFR 313.15(a)(1), which describes that captive bolt stunners shall be applied to livestock so as to produce immediate unconsciousness with a minimum of excitement and discomfort before being shackled or cut.

313.1

HATS Category IV – Handling During Antemortem Inspection On Friday, November 22, 2024, I, CSI REDACTED, starting at approximately 0552 hours, while performing antemortem inspection, observed the following humane handling noncompliance: A black Angus steer, whose body was in pen 6, had its head trapped under the gate of pen 15 front. Pen 6 was extended into the alley overnight to allow the cattle more room, thus the cattle in pen 6 were now counter to pen 15 front. At the time of this discovery, I did not observe any cattle present in pen #15 front. The steer was lying completely on its side with the bar caught behind its left side of his head. Upon further observations, the steer was wide eyed, and his eyes appeared to be bulging. I also observed him breathing heavily and what appeared to be a foamy saliva located on the ground around his head. I immediately notified Supervisor REDACTED of my findings and the forthcoming noncompliance. He immediately called for maintenance for them to bring out a saw. Approximately 3 minutes later, maintenance appeared, but with an angle grinder. REDACTED explained to them that the tool would not work, and he needed a Sawzall. Maintenance returned with a Sawzall and a come along winch and Facility Engineer REDACTED was also present to lend assistance. He instructed REDACTED to cut further down the bar, away from the steer’s head. Once the bar was cut, they placed the winch on the bar and hoisted it up, freeing the steer, at approximately 0600 hours. The steer was then able to stand and walk away without any apparent injuries. US reject tag NO.B40522686 was placed on pen #15 until the bar could be repaired. I verbally instructed Supervisor REDACTED that once the cattle in pen #15 back were removed it was not to be used to hold cattle until the cut bar was repaired. The establishment was noncompliant with regulation 9 CFR 313.1(a) Livestock pens, driveways, and ramps which states, “Livestock pens, driveways and ramps shall be maintained in good repair....unnecessary openings where the head, feet, or legs of an animal may be injured shall be repaired.” The above finding represents a similar noncompliance as that found in CFO3514113720N/2 dated 11/19/24. Both findings are consistent with inadequate facilities causing harm to the animals.

313.2

HATS Category III Water and Feed Availability On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at approximately 12:20 p.m. while performing a scheduled Humane Handling Ante Mortem inspection verification task, I, CSI REDACTED observed the following HATS Cat. III noncompliance: On November 19, 2024, in the live cattle holding area, IPP observed 2 beef cows in holding pen 9 at approximately 2:00 p.m. that were awaiting ante mortem inspection by IPP. The following day, November 20, 2024, IPP observed the same 2 beef cows in holding pen #15B that had been observed the previous day in holding pen #9. At that time, IPP decided to further investigate as to the arrival of time the cattle and how long they had been in holding pens. Upon further investigation, it was discovered the 2 beef cows had arrived with a load of 37 cattle and were documented on the pen/cattle ticket, which is the establishment’s official record used for cattle information, dated 11/19/2024. The pen/cattle ticket demonstrates the cattle arrived at the establishment at 8:42 a.m. and the 2 beef cows were immediately subtracted/removed from the initial load going to holding pen #6 and placed into pen #9. The cattle in pen 6 were inspected and passed at 10:27 a.m. and dated 11/19/2024 by CSI REDACTED. The cattle in pen #6 were sent to slaughter and the 2 beef cows that had been removed were still in pen #9 at the end of the shift. On November 20, 2024, the 2 beef cows that had been in pen #9 were ante mortem inspected at 5:52 a.m. by CSI REDACTED in holding pen #15B which is demonstrated on the pen/cattle ticket with the same information having just been stated. At the time of the discovery that the 2 beef cows were still on site and had not been sent to slaughter, IPP further investigated if there were any records of the 2 beef cows having received any feed during this period. It was then, IPP identified that there were no visible signs of the animals having received any feed nor was there any documentation to record a feeding. The establishments failure to provide feed to animals within a 24-hour period is noncompliant with 9 CFR 313.2(e) which describes feed availability for animals held longer than 24 hours. At 12:20 p.m. November 20, 2024, I verbally informed Barn Supervisor REDACTED of my findings and of the forthcoming noncompliance. A review of the establishment’s 90 days records of noncompliance’s indicates there were no noncompliance’s issued with the same root cause.

313.1

HATS Category IV - Handling During Antemortem Inspection On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, I, CSI REDACTED, starting at approximately 0932 hours, while performing the Livestock Humane Handling task, specifically, I observed following HATS Category IV Humane Handling Noncompliance. Along the snake area leading to the knock box of the establishment, along the bottom half of the wall along the second turn, I observed this area had a couple of holes. The largest one measuring approximately 2 feet in height and a foot long as well as sharp edges, located on the inside of the narrow snake ramp. Two sharp edges spanned approximately 3 inches outwards. These sharp edges had clumps of hair hanging from the ends. At the time, there were no cattle present in the snake and establishment employe lowered the powered dividers to avoid cattle from entering the snake. I then called for and notified Slaughter Manager REDACTED of my findings and the forthcoming noncompliance. Maintenance quickly fixed the sharp edges in the snake, so no sharp edges were exposed to the animals. Metal plates were pried on the exterior showing no signs of exterior flooring. This was a temporary fix. Maintenance would then return during the lunch break and would drill in screws to keep the plates secured. They would also grind down any sharp edges from the plates that were installed. I was then called for a final inspection at approximately 1035 hours. The establishment’s corrective actions brought the snake back to compliance and I allowed them to resume operations at approximately 1050 hours. The establishment was noncompliant with regulation 9 CFR 313. 1(a) Livestock pens, driveways, and ramps which states, "Livestock pens, driveways and ramps shall be maintained in good repair. They shall be free from sharp or protruding objects which may, in the opinion of the inspector, cause injury or pain to the animals." A review of past 90 days noncompliance records indicates inspection personnel have not issued a noncompliance with the same root cause. The above findings represent a similar noncompliance as the one found in CFO2211103309N dated 10/08/24. Both findings are consistent with inadequate facility maintenance where cattle are present.

313.1

HATS Category IV Handling During Antemortem Inspection On Tuesday, October 8, 2024, I, CSI REDACTED starting at approximately 0533 hours, while performing antemortem inspection, observed the following humane handling noncompliance. In the back of pen 18, the large support post had rusty, sharp edges measuring approximately 2 feet tall, located on the inside of the pen. Two bars between pens 19 and 20 near the front had rusty, sharp edges. The bottom bar’s sharp edges spanned approximately 3 feet. The middle bar’s rusty, sharp edges spanned approximately 2 feet long. All three pens, 18, 19, and 20, at the time had no cattle present. Pen 4, which had cattle present, had a broken bar hanging with a sharp edge inside the pen. I then notified Supervisor REDACTED of my findings and the forthcoming noncompliance. REDACTED then fixed the bar in pen 4 so no sharp edges were exposed to the animals. Pens 18, 19, and 20 were rejected for use with US Reject tags NO.B40522698, NO.B40522699, and NO.B4052270, and REDACTED was notified these pens were not be used until the affected bars were fixed and passed by my reinspection. The establishment was noncompliant with regulation 9 CFR 313.1(a) Livestock pens, driveways, and ramps which states, “Livestock pens, driveways and ramps shall be maintained in good repair. They shall be free from sharp or protruding objects which may, in the opinion of the inspector, cause injury or pain to the animals.” A review of past 90 days noncompliance records indicates inspection personnel have not issued a noncompliance with the same root cause.