63

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 M46070+P | Marble City Meats LLC KLE121311 O4NOV2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Open Handling of Livestock Summary: The following
46070 1404G Humane contains the Verification Plan for Marble City
Handling Meats, LLC. Establishment #M46070, Sylacauga,

AL. The establishment did not conduct any
inspected red meat slaughter operations during
the two-week period since the last verification
task was performed. Last verification was
conducted on 10/10/2019. Establishment
Owner/Manager Matthew Lawrence informed
inspection personnel the establishment would not
conduct any inspected red meat slaughter
operations for the next several weeks. No timeline
has been given as to when establishment would
start back slaughter operations. Issue/Action
Plan: Verify that the establishment utilizes an SOP.
to not accept hogs with an “atypical head
formation”. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9
CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(3) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
VIII (8) Findings: No inspected slaughter
operations performed during the verified time
period. Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment maintains two (2) functioning hand
held captive bolts (HHCB), and a third .22 rifle
backup stun weapon, near the stun area, and
during stunning operations. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR §, 313.16(a)(3) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: Based
upon visual observation and record review,
Establishment had 2 Functioning captive bolts as
well as a third .22 rifle backup stun weapon near
the stun area. |ssue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment, if necessary, upon need for a third
stun to render an animal insensible, utilizes the
.22 rifle for said third stun attempt. Regulations:
9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9

CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
VIII (8) Findings: No inspected Slaughter
operations performed during the verified time



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
15 M&6R Cargill Meat Solutions £HN10181 100CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 12:38am on October 10, 2019
04210G Humane (On B shift for October 9, 2019) while performing
Handling the Livestock Humane Handling Task; ](b)(6)

observed the following. Two

conscious cows that were not stunned went over
the belly belt and dropped down onto the
discharge belt where the cows are normally
shackled and hoisted prior to bleeding. The
pneumatic stunning device operator was not at
the controls, as he was checking on the animals
being loaded into the chute. The belly belt
became operational and the two cows went over
onto the discharge belt below. The cows landed
on their chests but quickly got their feet under
them. The two cows proceeded to stand up,
stepped down from the discharge belt without
slipping or falling, and were walking around on
the floor below. Both cows appeared uninjured
and neither cow vocalized during the event.
Neither cow was stunned prior to these events,
nor were the cows shackled and hoisted while
conscious. The cows were corralled between a set
of gates and the establishment employees
immediately and effectively rendered each cow
unconscious with hand-held captive bolt devices
on the first stunning attempt. | notified (b)(6)

(b\(6) lof the situation
and informed him that this would be documented
in an MOI or possibly even an NR. This is the
second time an incident of this nature has
occurred in less than 2 weeks time. On Friday,
September 27H (b)(6)_itnessed a
similar incident where a live cow went over the
belly belt and was loose on the floor around the
discharge belt where the cows are shackled and
hoisted This event was discussed and documented
at the weekly establishment meeting dated
10/3/2019.

127


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 29

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
35 M320M+V | Smithfield Fresh Meats Corp. VWK04150 25SEP2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Finalized [spoke wit! b)(6)
320 94325G Humane (b)(6)Jat approximately 1545 hours on
Handling 09/24/2019 regarding a basket containing six live

hogs in the top cage of the Sout] (b)(4) | The hogs
had been in thf 0 fone since T500 hours
(approximately 45 minutes) at that time due to a
mechanical breakdown. The CO2 had not been
evacuated as the problem was with the hydraulic
system. The hogs were lying down but panting
heavily and appeared fully conscious. A plant
employee had begun spraying the hogs down
with water about five minutes previously, There
timated completion time for repairs. |
this situation was less than ideal
and may develop into a humane handling
noncompliance for hogs being confined with no
water or if they became distressed!
immediately contacted Maintenance to discuss
removing the hogs from the cage while repairs
were completed. He stated they did not have a
way to evacuate the hogs from the cage but could
lower them to Stop 1 (approximately 90% CO2) to
be immediately stunned. The cage was lowered
and the hogs were stunned around 1600 hours,
approximately 60 minutes after being loaded. A
separate cage of hogs that had been raised
showed no animals with any signs of
consciousness,|_(b)(6) _ [confirmed that the 31
animals in the| (>)(+)/ would be condemned in
accordance with establishment policy and the
ould not be put back into use until
repairs were completed and it was fully
operational.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
50 M17564 Indiana Packers Corporation MLOS5170 29JAN2020 | 04C02 | Livestock Open On January 28, 2020, at approximately 2105
11829G Humane hours, the establishment conducted a test run
Handling after the lunch break in response to an increase in

the number of hogs coming out of the East
Stunner “gasping” for breath prior to the break.
The test run consisted of a total of eleven hogs
split between two baskets. Upon exiting the East
Stunner, | observed all eleven hogs exhibit one or
more of the following “gasping” for breath,
present palpebral reflex, and/or spontaneously
blinking. No vocalizations, eye tracking, righting
reflex, or rhythmic breathing were observed. The
establishment immediately stunned all hogs with
a captive bolt gun and stopped CO2 stunning.
Initially maintenance could not find an issue with
the East Stunner. On further examination, there
may have been an issue with the calibration of the
CO2 sensor that was performed earlier in the day.
The establishment's corrective actions were as
follows: - | Keep CO2 valves fully open. -
Run 5-6 hogs per basket. - — Performa single
test run on both the East and West Stunner. If no
issues with the test run, run every other basket. If
no additional issues, then increase to every
basket. if no continued issues, run every basket.
Keep a supervisor, with readily available
captive bolt gun, at the shackle table to monitor
hogs for signs of returning to sensibility the
remainder of the shift. | observed both the East
and West Stunners during the immediate period
after re-starting the stunning process through
running every basketand did not abserve any of
the previous issues. (oy)

2


Table: MO!s in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
25 M850+P17 | Swift Pork Company HEM14021 28DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Around 16:38 on 12/27/19 | was watching prod
775+V850 20428G Humane use by stunner 2. At this time, the hogs weren't
Handling coming in to well so there were no hogs in the

irons. When 2 hogs did enter the left side of the
irons for stunner 2, the employee immediately
used the electric prod on them. Upon seeing this |
had another employee with a radio call for a
supervisor. Wher (b)(6)
[(i(arrived, | informed him of what | observed
and why the employee used the prod as soon as
the hogs entered the irons. He then went to talk
to the employee. He came to me around 16:58 to
tell me that he watched the time frame on the
video and that the employee said the hog balked
at the entrance, so he used the bat, then left and
used the prod when he first came back. | told him
what | observed was at the entrance to the irons,
to which he said the cameras don’t get that area;
but he did talk to the employee about needing to
use the plastic bats prior to the electric prod. At
16:46 | observed a hog get stressed and go down
right after the 90 degree turn with the front part
up to the shoulders just past the longer door in
the wall. The employee saw this and instead of
opening the door out into the walkway, the
employee started to lift the hogs head up and
appeared to be in a position to try to move the
front of the hog to open the door into the alley
way (as it opens in either direction\(~ C66) _]
saw this and jumped into the alley way
to stop the employee before he did anything
other than lift the hogs head up.[“()(6)_|then
called for another employee to bring the black
sled to place the hog into and they used that to
move the hog into the area for slow hogs to rest.
At 19:11 | was again walking past the stunners
when | again noticed the employee a different
individual, but same position) at stunner 2 use the
electric prod on the hogs prior to the plastic bat. |
again asked the same employee as before to radio

123


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 72

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

15 M46297 Lockhart Meat Company CPO56090 14MAY2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | HATS Category: VIII (Stunning Effectiveness) At
52014G Humane approximately 10:00 am today while performing

Handling a routine Humane Handling Category VIII task at
Lockhart’s (M46297), | (0/6) observed
walked up to the head
restraint with a hand-held captive bolt device to
stun a steer in the chute. After the first stun
attempt, the animal remained standing and
conscious, with no evident wound or blood.
immediately applied a second stun to the
steer, with the backup hand-held captive bolt
device. The animal by this time was vocalizing
loudly and still standing. stunned the
animal for a third time which rendered the animal
unconscious (b)(6) | followed up with a safety
knock. This was the last animal offered for
slaughter for the day. | placed a U.S. Rejected Tag
(# B-45 316510) on the entrance to the stunning
area. Upon review of the steer skull, there were 4
holes in the skull of the animal. | learned the
establishment had just received a new tin of
orange .25 caliber 3.5 grain charges for the
hand-held captive bolt device. The establishment
has decided to stop using those charges and will
purchase some new charges. The Establishment
operates under a Robust Systematic approach of
Humane Handling.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
15 M48144 Abe's Kosher Meats LLC CFR451606 13JUN2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | 2019 at approximately 1:45 pm, |
0613G Humane oe) stepped outside into the pen area
Handling to perform a routine water availability check

when | observed a calf laying on its left side in the
alleyway to the stunning area with its legs sticking
out from under the metal wall. | lifted the cover
on the side of the alleyway to find that the calf
had its head stuck in between its back and the
alley wall and facing the opposite direction of its

feet. It was laying passively. | immediately notified
[ie pittecars
condition, and he was able to place the calf’s head
back in a forward-facing position. However, the
calf was still unable to respond normally to
stimuli, sit up, or stand. | instructed the
employees to go ahead and stun the calf, as she
was now non-ambulatory. She was rendered
immediately unconscious on the first stunning

attempt and moved out of the alleyway. | spoke
incident, who offered to make the alleyway
narrower if possible to prevent calves from getting

their feet under the gap between the wall and the
concrete floor.



Table: MO!s in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task

MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

25

M2460+P2
460

Cimpl's, Inc.

PMB27091
04211G

110CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock
Humane

Handling

Finalized

On October 10, 2019 while ee
was performing an odd-hours
inspection of the barn and animal handling
facilities | noticed the following concerns: The
first steel post (closest to alley) on the east side of
pen 19 hada small burr forming on it. The tin
hung above the concrete wall that separates the
alley and the US Suspect Pen/Pen 1 was bent out
in multiple places which formed sharp edges.
Also, the west side of this tin was not secured and
could be bent out easily. This tin would
eye/shoulder level for Holstein cattle. (b\(6)
| (b)(6) as notified of
these findings and repairs were made.

25

M2460+P2
460

Cimpl's, Inc.

PMB59081
10626G

26NOV2019 | 04C02 | Livestock
Humane

Handling

Finalized

At approximately 0750 hours, while walking past
the tub area | (bye) noticed the
crowd gate was open, at this pomt| observed 3
different points on the bottom edge closest to the
pivot point where the weld had let loose or
rusted. These points are not firmly affixed to the
frame of the gate. | felt the 3 points and did not
feel any sharp areas, but they do have the
potential to become sharp as they wear. At
approximately 0805 hours | brought my concerns
to the attention of| (b)(6)

(b)(6)

19


Table: MOl!s in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
15 M9265+P9 | Marks Meat Inc. CFI311401 29JAN2020 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized On Wednesday January 29, 2020, |, Enforcement
265 4229G Humane Investigations and Analysis Officer (EIAO!
Handling as on site at Est. M9265, Marks

Meats, to conduct a follow up visit for
non-compliances issued during a food safety
assessment conducted in December 2019. On this
date, |, accompanied by eet ee
the establishment perform the stunning
procedure on a landrace type market hog around
0720 hours. The stun box is in the same room as.
the slaughter processing floor allowing full
visibility of inspection personnel of all stunning
procedures. On this date the EIAO and CS! were
standing roughly 5ft away from the stun box, The
first pig of the day was loaded into the stun box
and the designated establishment employee
applied the first stun attempt using the hand-held
captive bolt (HHCB) device. The pig remained
conscious, as it was standing, looking around with
eyes tracking and vocalizing (repeated, ongoing
loud squealing). The establishment employee
immediately applied a second stun attempt using
a back-up loaded HHCB device which was readily
available to the stun operator. Following the
second stun attempt, the pig become ventrally
recumbent in the stun box, but remained
conscious with rhythmic breathing and continued
to squeal. The stun box obscured the eyes of the
pig from view once the pig became recumbent in
the stun box, At this time the establishment
employee applied a third stun attempt using a
larger HHCB device, which was readily available to
the stun operator and rendered the pig

immediately and effectively unconscious. At this
time] 6) Japproached{ —_ (6)(6)

(by(6) who was also
observing the stunning procedures, to notify him
of the egregious incident and verbally notified him
to stop operations until further notice.
Establishment management were already

132


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
80 M46877+P | Seven Hills Abattoir NOA13110. 26AUG2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized On August 26, 2019 at 10:00 AM, a meeting was
46877 84526G Humane held between plant owner, Ryan Ford] (b)(6)
Handling [©6] ana| (b)(6) [to discuss

the footing problems in the pen system. [(1)(|
A la the meeting by describing the
istorical issues in the pen system. December
2018, an NR was documented for poor footing in
the pen system and knock box which led to cattle
slipping and falling. The plant responded by trying
to spread the cattle thinly over the large pen
system and throwing down some sand. They also
addressed the knock box issue with a rubber mat
that has helped tremendously. In February 2019,
Rate KS) ‘sted fora
routine humane handling review and also noted
that cattle continued to slip and fall on the floors.
[-(y6)_]documented in her report a
meeting between her and plant manager, Dalton
Mosser, discussing the need to fix footing in the
pens. As a result, the plant placed down woven
tire mats at strategic locations in the pen system
where the cattle have to make 90-degree turns or
typically slipped and fell. onl oye |
humane handling visit last Thursday, August 22,
2019, 3 out of 12, or 25% of the cattle monitored
during movement out of the pens and through the
alleyways slipped or fell. The goal for slips and
falls is between 1-2% so this level is way too high.
The movement of the animals by establishment
personnel is not the underlying cause of the slips
and falls and is done proficiently and with
minimal excitement. However, the majority of the
animals handled in this facility are typical more
high strung than those handled at a very small
abattoir for individual customers. Possible
solutions to the problem were
discussed/proposed. Some of the potential
solutions discussed were: grooving of the concrete
(diagonal or crosshatch), placing woven tire mats
throughout the pen system, cleaning less

78


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 36

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
15 M40463+V | Alaska Interior Meats, LLC NZSO71911 | O7NOV2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On November 6, 2019 at approximately 0830
40463 3207G Humane hours while verifying HATS Category VIII Stunning
Handling Effectiveness and HATS Category XI Conscious

Animals on the Rail on the slaughter floor, |,
(xe) observed an animal rega
consciousness after being stunned, shackled,
hoisted and stuck far bleeding. | observed the
stun operator effectively stun a market swine with
the electrical stunning device to the head on the
first stunning attempt. The swine’s rear leg was
shackled. While the swine was being hoisted, the
shackle loosened and fell off the animal's leg,
releasing the swine to the ground. While the
swine was lying in lateral recumbency on the
ground and still unconscious, the animal was
stuck for bleeding. The swine’s rear leg was
re-shackled, and the swine was fully hoisted off
the ground while unconscious. | observed, after a
few seconds, the shackle loosen a second time
and the swine fall to the ground, initially landing
on its head. | observed the animal regain
consciousness. | observed the swine sit upright
and maintain a sitting position with the back legs
bent and the front legs straight with hooves on
the ground. Chris Miller, plant manager, was
present and immediately instructed the stun
operator to re-stun the swine. The stun operator
applied a second attempt with the electrical
stunning device to the head, which rendered the
animal unconscious. | observed the swine
re-shackled, re-hoisted and re-stuck for bleeding.
Mr. Miller immediately addressed the incident
with verbal instruction to the stun operator. |
verbally informed Mr. Miller of the
non-compliance. Mr. Miller was not present for
the next market swine. | observed the stun
operator effectively stun the swine on the first
stun attempt with the electrical stunning device
to the head. The animal was shackled and
hoisted. When the swine was about 90% hoisted



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

USDA-FSIS Directive 5930.1 revision 4 states the
Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) and
the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) applies to

custom exempt animals.

107


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

peared on the kill floor and the
SVMO inquired if the beef was declared for
federal inspection or custom exempt

slaughter stated the animal was
intended for exempt slaughter.

iii. The same
individual observed striking the beef in the head
with the push broom and kicking it in the
hindquarters was observed with a water hose
running at full stream, first spraying the
hindquarters (animal still not turning around in
the knock box) then proceeding to spray the
animal in the face/head. At that point the SVMO

stopped the individual and instructeq (b)(6)

(b)(6) that the observed activity was

not acceptable, understanding the animal was
declared for custom exempt slaughter. The
establishment is once again reminded that per
FSIS Directive 5930.1 revision 4 the Federal Meat
Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Humane Methods
of Slaughter Act (HMSA) applies to custom
exempt animals. The above observations were

| likewise informed of the documentation of those
observations.



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

68

actions of stunning. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Training was completed on 9/18/2019. No
additional training has been performed or
recorded. Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment has verifiable procedures for stun
weapon cleaning, maintenance, and charge
selection and usage. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv), 9
CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(ii), 9 CFR § 313.16(b) (1)(ii)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon record review of establishments
weapon maintenance log, establishment has
documented that they have cleaned Captive Bolt
#1 & 2. as well as .22 Caliber rifle on Saturday,
November 23 & 30, 2019. Issue/Action Plan:
Verify that the establishment has provided and
posted stunning “landmark charts” and that such
are clearly posted in slaughter room and near stun
area. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9 CFR§ 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9
CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv). PHIS Task: HATS
CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: Establishment placed
two (2) landmark charts in the slaughter room on
9/18/2019. The Charts are clearly posted and
visible from any spot in the room. No additional
information has been added. Inspection program
personnel will continue to perform the PHIS
Inspection Task to verify the adequacy and
effectiveness of the establishment’s Humane
Slaughter program including all procedures
specified therein



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 M44779 Spencer County Butcher Block VMV52080 28JUN2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | June 27,2019 Faulkner Meats (M44779)
62228G Humane Taylorsville, KY performed USDA inspected
Handling slaughter this day. The SVMO observed the

following conditions at approximately 1445 hrs.
EDT in the holding pens: 1. A pen housing
two mature boars was found with the automatic
water bowl in a non-functional position (it was
torn from the wall ina vertical rather than
horizontal position) and no visible means for
water access. There was the bottom portion of a
drum with waste products being used for food,
but no water inthe pen. 2. The pen just
outside the back door was in the process of being
cleaned; sheep (too numerous to count) and a calf
were crowded into another pen; the automatic
water bowl was dry (functional?) and no means
for water access observed. The floor had soupy
manure and minimal manure-soaked bedding.
The CSI was unable to relay how long these
animals may have been in this pen. The above
animals are considered custom exempt by the
establishment until they may be declared for
federal inspection. The establishment is once
again reminded that the FMIA (Federal Meat
Inspection Act) and the HMSA (Humane Methods
of Slaughter Act) applies to custom exempt
animals per FSIS USDA Directive 5930.1 revision 4.
This continues a trend in humane handling issues
for the establishment; a MO! dated May 22, 2019
documents a similar observation.

39



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 71

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
Humane Slaughter program including all
procedures specified therein
90 M46240 Light Hill Meats MKE38110 24JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Open At approximately 0810 hrs} (b)(6)
71824G Humane (b)(6) bserved one bull, weighing 1688
Handling S., being loaded into the knock box at Light Hill

Meats (est. 46240). Using .22 mag long rifle
ammunition, the plant employee administered a
first stun attempt and the animal subsequently
| exhibited sternal resaivaee Oe]
(by) hecked dentition for validation of
age. (he plant employee administered a stick to
the carotid artery, and in the process of severing
the spinal cord without cutting it, the animal
regained consciousness, vocalized, and stood on
all four legs. It was noted that the first stun
attempt was ineffective. At this time the
employee went back to the table where the gun is
kept, retrieved the gun, and administered a 2nd
stun to the forehead rendering the animal
unconscious, It remained unconscious and
insensible to pain throughout shackling, sticking,
and bleeding. The knocking box was immediately
tagged with Reject tag# B37-373667. Plant
manager Patrick McCord was notified of the
regulatory control action. Light Hill Meats (est.
46240) is not currently operating under a Written
Robust Systematic Approach to Humane Handling
Plan,



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 M7356+P7 | Harmon Brothers Meats, Inc. | JK4410085 21AUG2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | The Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer
356+V7356 521G Humane (SVMO) made the following observations at
Handling Harmon Bros. Meats (M7356) Warsaw, KY while

performing the Livestock Humane Handling task
at approximately 1100 hrs. EDT: @ The whole
shelled corn being offered as feed to animals held
in the holding pens was observed to be heavily
contaminated with fecal material in multiple
pens; in one pen (custom exempt animals) the
corn was so contaminated that it could barely be
distinguished from fecal material. @ Ina holding
pen housing lambs and goats, a lamb was
observed to be ambulatory disabled; the lamb
was obviously lame, carrying the left front limb,
and in the opinion of the SVMO, appeared to be
fused at the carpal joint in a 90-degree angle.
According to the whiteboard attached to the pen,
the animals were placed in the holding pen
August 16, 2019. The above observations were
brought to the attention of IPP (in-plant

personnel) and (b)(6)
(by6) As the animals were

placed in the holding pen on Friday, the SVMO
inquired as to why the animal in question was not
considered “priority slaughter” on the day of
delivery; the response received was the animal
was not observed lame on Friday. The SVMO
inquired as to why the animal was not segregated
from the normal population; the response
received again was the animal was not observed
lame the morning of August 19, 2019. The HHC
immediately had establishment personnel remove
the fecal contaminated corn, clean the feed
troughs and place fresh corn in the troughs. The
ambulatory disabled lamb was slaughtered. The
SVMO examined the carcass of the lamb;
suspicion was confirmed in that the articular
surface of the left carpal joint (knee) was angled
roughly 90-degrees indicating the long-term
position of the affected limb. The establishment

108


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

rendered the animal insensible. | verbally
informed the establishment that stunning
operations would cease, although the already
stunned carcasses could be processed. U.S. Reject
tag B42025027 was applied to the stun box. The
Denver District Office was contacted through
supervisory channels. Upon review of the dressed
head, | observed two stun holes had penetrated
the skull. (b)(6)

130


49

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
25 M45321 Upper lowa Beef LLC BYF421511 O6NOV2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On 11/5/2019 approximately at 1300 hours |
1306G Humane went to the indoor holding pens to perform
Handling ante-mortem inspection. While there | observed a

plant employee holding a rattle paddle with two
hands using it in a jabbing motion impacting the
beef animal held in the alleyway in the middle of
the back several times. The animal moved forward
after several uses of the rattle paddle in this
manner. A similar use of the rattle paddle was
discussed during the 10/31/2019 weekly meeting.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 91

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

25 M562 JBS Green Bay, Inc. QSM56110 O2ZMAY2019 | 04CO02 | Livestock Finalized | On May Ast, 2019, (by(6) (by(6)
51502G Humane and) = (b)(6) _|met with establishment

Handling management regarding the recent concerns with
prod usage documented in HH MOls on 4/23/19
and 4/25/19. Establishment personnel present
incuded (b)(6)

ie employees involved in those
incidents were retrained and FSIS personnel
needed to understand the establishment's
expectations for employee electric prod usage
going forward. The following is a summary of the
establishment's plan for prod usage and training
(to be completed with all barn employees in the
next 2 days). All management has been trained on
these expectations. - The establishment
stated they follow NAMI guidelines for prod usage
which involves using no implements (point of
balance), rattle paddles, air prod and then the
electric hand-held prod if necessary. + The
electric prod will be used 3 times if necessary and
then the animal will be allowed a rest period if
they do not move into the restrainer.

Another 3 prods will be applied, if necessary, in
attempt to move the animal into the restrainer.

If animals vocalize at any point, the animal
will be allowed to rest and one more attempt may
be made. If the animal vocalizes again, the animal
will be euthanized and plant condemned.
Depending on the gap in the line, the
establishment may decide to euthanize and
plant-condemn animals that do not enter the
restrainer at any time.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
25 M21898+V | Farmers Union Industries, LLC OXG36150 19APR2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized On 4/17/2019, at approximately 0630, | observed
21898 41919G Humane antemortem handling of hogs during antemortem
Handling inspection. The establishment's barn employees

were attempting to move a full pen of hogs for
antemortem inspection. The hogs were laying in
the pen with very little extra room available. The
establishment employees used rattle paddles to
wake and move the hogs at one end of the pen.
The hogs were then driven toward the other end
of the pen, over those hogs that were still laying
down. Given the high number of lame, ill, injured,
and down hogs, it is not possible to know if the
hogs laying down are non-ambulatory disabled.
Many of the hogs require additional time to rise
or need physical assistance. 9 CFR 313.2(a) states
that driving of livestock...shall be done with a
minimum of excitement and discomfort to the
animals. Additionally, 9 CFR 313.2(d)(1) states
that disabled animals and other animals unable to
move shall be separated from normal ambulatory
animals. My concerns with driving hogs in such a
way as to allow them to be stepped on was
discussed wit (06) andthe
barn employees. We discussed ways that this
problem could be prevented, including moving
hogs to another pen for antemortem inspection,
moving hogs by remaining outside the pens and
reaching over the walls with the paddles, or
decreasing stocking density. The long, narrow
pens that are stocked to the maximum number do
not allow the hogs to move away from the
employees in a normal flocking motion, The lack
of separation of lame hogs from the rest of the
groups contributes to the handling issues. | had
fewer concerns at subsequent antemortem
inspections on 4/17/2019 as the employees used
the new techniques to move the hogs. On
4/18/2019, at approximately 1300, | again
observed antemartem handling of hogs during
antemortem inspection. While the barn

12


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
80 M19290+P | Working H Meats, LLC NAWO00120 OSSEP2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Open Today, September 5, 2019, at approximately 1030
19290+V19 91605G Humane hours, | verbally notified Mrs. Terrie Hardesty,
290 Handling establishment owner/manager, of my decision to

suspend slaughter at Establishment 19290. |

| advised Mrs. Hardesty that | would be contacting

[i —rethe alee
District Office about my decision. At
approximately 1025 hours, an Angus steer, less
than 30 months of age, was loaded into the knock

box. Mr. Grant Hardesty attempted to stun the
steer using a.22 Magnum rifle) (b)(6)
myself, and Mrs. Hardesty were in the USDA office

discussing another issue. When | heard the rifle
fired a second time, | started toward the kill floor.
id, the rifle was fired a third time. Wheil
and | tried to open the door to the kill
floor, it was being held shut by a plant employee,
and at this time, | heard the .308 rifle fired {(b)(6

) Jopened the door, and we observed the
steer was rendered unconscious with the shot
from the .308 rifle. | asked Grant Hardesty for
details of the incident, and he said the animal
“locked up” after each of the shots with the .22
Magnum but did not go down. Because IPP had
not witnessed any of this, | asked to view the
video which the establishment records. |
accompanied Mr. Justin Hardesty to the computer
and watched the entire incident. After the first
shot, the steer backed up and threw its head
around but did not go down. The same occurred
after the second and third shot with the .22
Magnum. The fourth shot, using the .308 rifle,
rendered the steer unconscious and it went
down. After speaking with} (5)(©) — [andj

(b)(6) at approximately 1045 hours, |

confirmed with Mrs. Hardesty that slaughter was

suspended.| _(b)(6) _ placed US Reject Tag

#B40457354 on the knock box. After the
establishment had skinned the head, | examined it
and found four bullet holes in an “L” shape. The

5


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
observations were brought to the attention of
[io dite vs Ua
inform cumentation of these findings.
90 M44779 Spencer County Butcher Block VMV35101 27DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Spencer County Butcher Block (M44779)
25727G Humane Taylorsville, KY engaged in federally inspected
Handling slaughter activity on December 26, 2019. The

remaining livestock in the holding pens that did
not receive ante-mortem inspection by IPP are
considered custom exempt by the establishment.
That stated, at approximately 1400 hrs. EST the
Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer (SVMO)
made the following observation: the swine pen
holding swine of various sizes and too numerous
to count was found to have standing liquid feces
of approximately one inch in depth covering
roughly one-fourth of the floor, soupy feces
covering roughly one-fourth of the floor, and the
remainder of the floor covered with recumbent
swine. Some of the swine were observed lying on
the fringe of the recumbent pile in the soupy
manure portion of the floor. The condition of the
bedding where the swine were lying could not be
evaluated at the time of observation. The three
bottoms of cut-off plastic drums were observed
covered in feces and contained liquid material
consistent with that covering the floor,|(b)(
[mie pas notified by TPP of this
observation and the forthcoming documentation.
Per Directive 5930.1 revision 4 the Federal Meat
Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Humane Methods
of Slaughter Act (HMSA) applies to custom
exempt livestock. The above observation
continues a recent trend in humane handling
issues involving custom exempt animals at the
establishment.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 77

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI! Agenda

15 M46491+P | WholeStone Farms Cooperative, Inc. | CHU45081 27DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Category VIII - Stunning Effectiveness (9 CFR
46491 21527G Humane 313,15(a)(1)) On 12/26/2019, at approximately

Handling 1414 hours, an establishment employee applied a
hand-held captive bolt (HHCB) device to a market
hog (tattoo #0185) marked for condemnation by
the PHV in the segregation pen. The first stun
attempt did not render the animal unconscious.
The animal was standing and ran in the opposite
direction from the stun operator. The same
establishment employee applied a second stun
attempt with the HHCB device to the market hog
from behind the right ear, The second stun
attempt did not render the animal unconscious.
The hog was still standing, vocalizing and
ambulated in the opposite direction from the stun
operator. Another establishment employee
attempted to stun the animal for a third time;
however, the HHCB device fired but did not make
contact with the animal (missed stun). The hog
was not agitated by this. An establishment
employee began to approach the hog for another
stun attempt. The hog was moving its head
around and | intervened by recommending the
employees restrain the animal using a hog board
or the like. The establishment employees
immediately retrieved a hog board to confine the
animal between the concrete wall of the
segregation pen and the hog board, Then, an
establishment employee applied a stun attempt
with the HHCB device to the market hog and
rendered the animal unconscious. | instructed one
of the Livestock Department employees to radio
to the front end to stop CO2 stunning and notified
thd (b)(6) Jo
the egregious humane handling incident. U.S.
Reject tags #B39982436 and #B39982444 were
applied to each alleyway to the CO2 stunners at
approximately 1428 hours. The facility
implements and maintains a robust systematic
approach to humane handling.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
05 M4969+P4 | JJ Meat Co. 4co191409 OSSEP2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Finalized | Ineffective Stun MOI This MOI is to inform
969 2005G Humane establishment of the conversation that occurred
Handling after an ineffective penetrative stun on a bob veal

calf that did not render the animal uncor
immediately, on September 3, 2019.
as approached by Plant Manager Javier
J Jr. regarding his understanding of their
Humane Handling Program and how its
implemented (66) | stated due to JJ Meat
Co. having a “Robust Humane Handling Program”,
it exempts them from USDA IPP tagging a knock
box when a humane handling incident occurs, and
it exempts them from USDA IPP issuing an NR
when they do not produce an effective

i in.on the first attempt. | explained
that in order to have a “Robust
Humane Handling Program” you must be
implementing the program as written and that
the program does not exempt the plant from the
above examples provided (a Per
Directive 6900.2, if an establishment develops and
implements a robust systematic approach to
humane handling and slaughter (voluntary
program), FSIS would consider this when
determining enforcement actions following an
egregious inhumane treatment event. An example
provided t (DX) fora non-egregious act
was if an animal received a 1st stun, and was not
effective, the immediate corrective action is to
immediately stun again producing an effective
knock. This example is still considered a Humane
Handling noncompliance with regulation 9 CFR
315.15(a)(1) using a captive bolt as the stunning
method. An example provided for an egregious
inhumane handling per Directive 6900.2 Rev. 2 is,
“Multiple attempts, especially in the absence of
immediate corrective measures, to stun an animal
versus a single blow or shot that renders an
animal immediately unconscious”. With an
Egregious Inhumane Handling event, the district

IS



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task

MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

15

M11032+P
11032+V11
032

Northwest Premium Meats, LLC

Livestock
Humane
Handling

AOC12101
13604G

O4NOV2019 | 04C02

Finalized

On October 31, 2019] (016) hes pero i
ine slaughter inspection o| hen fO)(5}
ard two stunning attempts in quick

‘succession. observed the dressed head

had two penetrating holes. A meeting was held
betweel (by(6)

(by6) |Lee |

(bye) (b\(6) __ fo discuss the incident.

During the meeting it was emphasized that the
regulatory performance standard is the delivery of
an effective stun producing complete insensibility
of the animal on the first stunning attempt. It is
the establishment's responsibility to provide
sufficient restraint per 9CFR 313.15(a)(1) to assure
accurate placement of the hand-held captive bolt
device in the target area.

25

M1620

Quality Pork Processors

18DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock
Humane

Handling

QM04822
121518G

Finalized

At approximately 2038 hours on December 18th,
2019, | observed a livestock employee attempt to
move a group of hogs from pen 213 into pen 317.
The group became congested at the turn into the
pen, and | observed the employee use his rattle
paddle to tap several of the hogs that were at the
back of the group and were unable to move.
There were also a few hogs that were attempting

to climhon tan ofother hags 1 discussed this
wit (x6) jand
(b)(6) Ind had them view

the corresponding surveillance footage. In the
footage, the employee did not close the inner pen
gate as he should have, resulting in hogs walking
in the opposite direction and causing the
congestion. Regardless of whether there is
congestion during moving groups or not, hogs are
to be moved with a minimum of stress and
excitement. Using the rattle paddle to tap hogs
who are unable to move causes excess stress|()(6)

(b)(6) sponded that they
| would take care of the situation.

1


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
50 M85B Swift Pork Company GYM04020 O7JUN2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Open On June 7, 2019 at approximately 00:25, while |
60707G Humane was performing antemortem inspection duties in
Handling the barn, | passed through the alley adjacent to

row 21-25 as a front-end employee was moving
hogs to the kill alley from the row. The employee
was opening the gate nearest the side alley | was
in, swinging it from the middle alley toward the
back of the pen. He unlatched the gate and
pushed it to open, letting go of the gate, and
allowed it to swing back toward the wall under its
own momentum. A hog was standing behind the
gate nearer the wall and facing toward the gate.
The gate swung unimpeded until it struck the hog
in the left side of the face and head. The hog
jumped and squealed as the gate hit it. The
front-end employee had turned and was opening
the gate on the opposite side of the pen when |
looked back to him. At approximately 00:29, |
oo ae aa and informed
him of what | had observed. He said he would
speak to the employee and investigate further. At
00:40, | notified (b)(6) that | would be
writing an MO! detailing what | had seen and
documenting that | had spoken to him. He
requested that | speak with (b\(6)

(b)(6) I 6) was

contacted, and once he arrived | explained what |
had seen to him. He said that he understood that
was not the way gates should be opened and said
he would review the video and take appropriate
actions. | informed him that | planned to write an
MOI about this incident. At approximately 00:52,
(b)(6) lalso asked me
details of the incident and stated that they would
closely review the video and would retrain
front-end employees to handle gates properly.

112


Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

secondary device had not been loaded during the
first incident. These conditions were imperfect,
but no hogs regained consciousness.



Table: MO!s in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
50 M85B Swift Pork Company GYM59230 O2JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Open On July 2, 2019 at approximately 17:50, while |
70802G Humane was examining subject pigs in subject pen number
Handling 1 with ye) | | observed as he

attempted to get two pigs up near the gate from
the barn area. He attempted to several times with
each pig to get the animals to rise, one only made
it to a sitting position and the other refuse to rise
at all. | observed as he left those hogs and
directed his attention to hogs bunched on the
other side of the pen and successfully got several
of those hogs up on their feet and walking. One of
those pigs then moved toward the pig laying
down near the gate to the barn area, that had
refused to rise earlier. The ambulatory hog stood
over that disabled hog and then stepped on and
over the down pigh__(by(6) _]then herded the
walking pig away from the down pig. Shortly
thereafter the decision was made to humanely
euthanize the down pig due to its inability to rise.
I then had a conversation with[ (6) ]
explaining that when hogs are disabled and
unable to rise they should be separated from
ambulatory hogs. | also informed! (V(6) |
that | would create an MO! documenting these
events and our conversation.

113


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

as 1200 hours to 1500 hours and the next
documented time is Monday 11/25/19 between
1600 hours and 1800 hours, which represents a
25-hour interval. On Friday 11/29/19," (y6)_|
(b)(6) | reported to} _(b)(6) that the feedlot
animals were also fed on Monday 11/25/19 at
1430 hours. Despite this matter being
investigated by multiple IPP throughout the week,
this was the first time that this information was
presented to IPP and it was not documented on
the 11/25/19 log. According to the Daily
Inventory records kept by the Establishment,
approximately 420 head of cattle, received on
either 11/22/19 or 11/23/19, were present in the
yards pens during the 25-hour interval described.
Maintenance of accurate feeding logs is not a
regulatory requirement. However, IPP
recommend plant management complete feeding
logs accurately and at the time of feeding to
ensure consistency in the feeding of animals,
regulatory compliance, and promote clear
communication among all parties. Poor
communication can lead to animals inadvertently
not being fed or not being fed within the 24-hour
window required by regulation. IPP would like to
remind plant management that to remain
compliant with 9 CFR 313.2(e), all animals held
longer than 24 hours on premises shall have
access to feed. This memorandum is issued to
give plant management the opportunity to
address the aforementioned issues and proffer
necessary measures to prevent failures.

34



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 93

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
[ (by) Laney]
(V6) Jand| _(b)(6)
(b)(6) |. |_(bi'6)_Jarrived
at the knocking area and asker ()(6) about the

head with noidentification| (b)(6) — |explained
the head was from a smaller

id gotten stuck in the restrainer
with another larger animal lodged on top of it.
Both animals were rendered unconscious and the
chain was utilized to pull the carcasses from the
restrainer. The smaller animal was removed first,
and with the force needed to move it out of its
lodged position, the head was pulled off with the
chain. asked what the intention of
the establishment was to present the head wi
no identification to USDA for inspection,
stated it would be presi
Disposition station. instructed
offline USDA personnel to ensure the carcass of
the smaller animal (the one with the head still in
the restrainer area) was USDA retained by online
personnel. come why FSIS was not
notified of the occurrence of the animals getting
stuck in the restrainer and the head of the smaller
animal being removed with the chain. Upon
jortem inspection bf) | and

FSIS PHVs, the following perimortem
injuries were noted about Carcass 210918 (the
carcass of the smaller animal with the head
removed): o Significant bruising in the
intercostal muscles from the level of T1 to T 12

© Bilateral rib fractures from T3 toT6 o

Bruising visible on the exterior surface of the
carcass over the ribs 0 Torn musculature at the
cervical area and significant bruising at the neck

o Hematomas around the heart and in the lungs
The establishment is reminded that they are
responsible for maintaining the identification of
every carcass and all its parts until final inspection
has been completed; presenting all parts of every



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 88

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

25 M562 JBS Green Bay, Inc. QSM08150 23APR2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | A meeting occurred at JBS Green Bay on April 23,
44023G Humane 2019 at approximately 1:45 pm —duri

Handling utine Humane Handling audit exit

meeting. This is to document the incidence of
prodding observed by on
April 23, 2019 at approximately 9:40 am.
lwas observing Humane Handling with i3)(]

(bi/é) lin the establishment's chute
leading into the restrainer. (b)(6) Jbserved
the associate at the entrance to the restrainer use
a hand-held electric prod (HHEP) on 3 animals in
separate events within 8 minutes. The third
animal was prodded twice with the HHEP to move
it from 5 feet before the entrance to the restrainer
to the entrance of the restrainer.. The animal
balked again at the entrance to the restrainer.

The associate was then again used the HHEP on
the animal another 3 times with the animal
vocalizing and kicking with its rear legs. The
animal directly behind the prodded animal was
far enough behind the first animal it did not get
hit with the front animal's rear feet as it kicked.

A Quality Assurance associate was present and
shouted “Hey!” to the responsible associate after
the first 2 animals had the HHEP applied. The QA
associate took no action during the prodding of
the third animal and [_ (6) __|ntervened by
alerting
(b)(6) io then took control of the
situation by stopping the associate from using the
HHEP on the balking animal. The establishment
is reminded that per 9 CFR 313.2 “Driving of
livestock from the unloading ramps to the holding
pens and from the holding pens to the stunning
area shall be done with a minimum of excitement
and discomfort to the animals” and “Electric
prods, canvas slappers or other implements
employed to drive animals shall be used as little
as possible in order to minimize excitement and
injury. Any use of such implements which, in the



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task

MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

15

M245L+P2
45L

Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc

LEI342209
29266

26SEP2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock
Humane

Handling

Finalized

HATS task IX Return to Consciousness At 2343 on
September 21st, 2019, as a steer left the stack
and started down the bleed chain, prior to
exsanguination, it attempted to right itself and
blinked. An establishment employee noticed this
steer at the same time | did and went to stun the
steer with a hand-held captive bolt (HHBC) device.
The chain continued to run, the steer continued to
try to right itself, and the employee was unable to
get a good shot to stun the steer. | instructed the
establishment employees who were bleeding the
animals to stop the line and they did. The
employee placed the HHCB device on the steer’s
skull, but the device did not fire. While the
employee fixed the HHCB device, the steer
vocalized twice. The employee placed the HHCB
device on the skull again. This time the device
fired. The animal was rendered insensible and
exsanguinated. Approximately 1 minute
transpired from when the steer regained
consciousness and was rendered unconscious

again. | informed (b)(6)
[inne br the inc eRE tagged the knock box

with USDA retained tag B31963126. The
establishment cleared the line out after |
contacted the FLS.

16

25

M2460+P2
460

Cimpl's, Inc.

PMB38070 04c02

65325G

25JUN2019 Livestock
Humane

Handling

Finalized

(b)(6) ind |

‘ming a
-through of the barn when we found the
following maintenance concerns: 1. Gates to pens
15 and 16 had rusted piping, no sharp edges
noticed. 2. The gate separating pen 3 and 6 had
rusted and broken piping. 3. The concrete footing
for a support beam between pens 13 and 15 had
much of the concrete missing. 4. Bent piping on
the gate the separates the front and back of pen
14. 5. Broken welds on the crowd gate to the
circle tub. No sharp objects were noticed.

On June 19}



Table: MO!s in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

as their robust systematic approach paperwork
have sections that indicate Primary, Secondary,
and backup stun are present and in good working
order in the room. Establishment affirms on their
data log sheets that the said stun equipment is
present in the room. Issue/Action Plan: Verify
that the establishment, if necessary, upon need
for a third stun to render an animal insensible,
utilizes the .22 rifle for said third stun attempt.
Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: Based on
visual observation, the establishment did not need
to utilize the .22 rifle for a third stun attempt on
9/19/2019. Although the .22 rifle backup stun
weapon was in slaughter room near the stun area
loaded with safety on in gun case. Issue/Action
Plan: Verify that the stun operators are trained
and have successfully passed the establishment's
test, prior to the stun operator being allowed to
resume the actions of stunning. Regulations: 9
CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon my review of establishment Stunning
training logs, Establishment stun

operator & owner Matthew Lawrence successfully
completed and passed all necessary retraining and
testing of stunning effectiveness on 9/18/2019.
His training included “strike zone and angle
placement, wooden block testing, Humane
handling and effective slaughter written test and
weapons training.” The training was witnessed
and signed b (b)(6)

(b)(6) Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment has verifiable procedures for stun
weapon cleaning, maintenance, and charge
selection and usage. Regulations: 9
CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv), 9
CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(ii), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:

58



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

the equipment is brought to their attention, the
establishment is failing to ensure that this
equipment is immediately repaired or tagged out
in a fashion that it could not be used until it was
repaired. USDA strongly urges the establishment
to respond to this MOI since MOls associated with
Humane Handling are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act.

25

M717+P19
051+V717

Smithfield Fresh Meats Corp.

TAE471606
20256

25JUN2019

04c02

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

During AM witnessed employee dragging dead pig
from the blood pit over the wall of the downer
pen and fall onto the floor. Live downer pigs were
in pen but none were hit during this incident.
Notified Donovan employees are not to do this
when live pigs are in the pen or near vicinity.
Donovan said he would talk to them.

25

M717+P19
051+V717

Smithfield Fresh Meats Corp.

TAE421409
3111G

11SEP2019

04co2

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

While performing ante-mortem inspection of pen
3 and 4, | observed water leaking from roof at the
junction of the new/old roofs above a plugged in
light bulb, the water was pouring into a pen with

pigs in the space and water pooled on the ground.
limmediately spoke with (b)(6)

(b)(6) about getting power to this light
bulb shut off until the leak stops/is fixed. He
called maintenance and within 5 minutes, the
light bulb was unplugged from its electrical
source, removing potential for electrocution from
the water leak.

100


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

frequently to allow build up of bedding, metal
cleating adhered to the floor, covering the cement
with a grip epoxy, or re-pouring a concrete floor
with gravel/pebbles or metal strips protruding
from the top surface to provide grip.
(b)(6) plso mentioned using the small plant
ielp desk and colleagues within the abattoir and
farming community as a resource for the plant to
determine which option may best fit their
as notified that this is a
priority issue for the establishment and should be
handled in a reasonable time frame.
stated that he is unsure of why this is a pr
in his facility since it is constructed out of
concrete, sturdy metal gates, and a replaced roof,
along with being kept clean on a consistent basis.
(6)(6) and| (b)(6) explained that most
of the issue lies in the Tooting- the concrete is
sturdy but also has a smooth surface which
becomes slick with water, urine, and feces. Most
other facilities with concrete floors tend to have
some sort of rough surface such as grooving or
broom sweeping (not recommended since this
wears down over time) [_@)@_}nentioned that
all of the possible solutions may take some time
since they are all big projects and may require
more research, contractors, and testing in one or
two pens[ (016) Jacknowledged that the
possible solutions are major changes but the
inspection program expects this issue to be taken
seriously and actively worked on over the next
few weeks, A potential solution should be
proposed and in the stages of implementing
within 3-4 weeks. It is understood that several
different options may need to be tried prior to
finding a working solution, but these need to be
actively underway and cannot wait for several
months before anything is done.
discussed the possibility of placi
netting/covering along the walls of the pens so

lem

79


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

90 M44779 Spencer County Butcher Block VMV01120 O9JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized USDA inspected slaughter activities were
71609G Humane performed this day at Faulkner Meats (M44779)

Handling Taylorsville, KY. The Supervisory Veterinary
Medical Officer (SVMO) verified conditions in the
holding pens at approximately 1500 hrs. EDT.
What appeared to be a pot-bellied pig was
observed being held on the scale without access
to water; no means of holding water was found in
the “pen”. In-plant personnel left the
establishment at approximately 1330 hrs. EDT.
How long the pig was held on the scale without
water is unknown. Management considers all
animals in the holding pens to be custom exempt
until the time they are declared for USDA
inspection. Upon returning to his vehicle in
preparation to leave the establishment, the SVMO
was confronted by establishment owner Mitchell
Warren. Mr. Warren stated, “USDA is done; stay
out of my barn.” The SVMO informed Mr. Warren
of his right to be in the barn; Mr. Warren
reiterated “stay out of my barn.” The SVMO
encouraged Mr. Warren to contact chain of
command; again Mr. Warren stated for the SVMO
to “stay out of my barn.” It is recommended
establishment management review Title 9 CFR
300.6 Access to establishments and other places
of business. Particularly 9 CFR 300.6(a)(1) which
states in part that persons subject to provisions of
the FMIA (Federal Meat Inspection Act) must
afford representatives of the Secretary access to
establishments that slaughter or otherwise
prepare livestock products and 9 CFR 300.6(b)(1)
which states in its entirety “At all times, by day or
night, whether the establishment is being
operated or not, inspection program employees
must have access to the premises and to every
part of an establishment that slaughters livestock
or otherwise prepares meat products or
slaughters poultry or otherwise processes poultry
products that are subject to inspection for the



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

52

05

M45422+V
45422

Messina Meats

BEJ401108
0928G

28AUG2019

04c02

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

Date/Time of Inspection: August 28, 2019, 0430
to0515 HATS |: Weather; Mild, 68 degrees, dry,
covered pens are available for animals for
protection from inclement weather HATS Il:
Truck Unloading; One farm trailer unloaded 3
market hogs, establishment employees moved
them without incident HATS III: Water and Feed;
Three pens of cattle had water and feed, one pen
with 20 goats had water and feed HATS IV:
Ante-Mortem Inspection; Employees drove
market hogs from trailer to holding pen without
excess discomfort or excitement. No disrepair
observed in holding pens, alleyways HAT V:
Suspect/Disabled Animals; No suspect or disabled
animals on premises HAT VI: Electric
Prods/Alternative Devices; No driving tools used
to move hogs off trailers or into pens HATS VII:
Slips and Falls; None observed HATS VIII:
Stunning Effectiveness; No slaughter HATS IX:
Consciousness on the Rail; No slaughter
Conclusion: Based on the observations during
this odd hour inspection | conclude that: There
was no heavy equipment lying in the immediate
pen area. There was also no evidence of animals
skidding, dragging or any mistreatment of
animals. | have determined, based on my
observations, that the plant is compliant with
humane handling regulations during my odd hour
Humane Handling Inspection visit.

05

M45422+V
45422

Messina Meats

BEJ451608
02306

30AUG2019

04co2

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

MOI for Odd hours goes here



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MOI! Agenda

to fill the pen, but the counters filled a draft of 53
the first scale then 19 on the second. They only
called in the scale of 19 as that was what was
asked for; but when the scale operator signaled
for the scale to be taken to the pen, both scales
were taken instead of just the one. This is why all
the other pens were correct, those 53 never were
entered into the system. They were going to
discipline the employee involved. Around 18:50
on 9/11/19 | informed{ (bia) _] that the
documentation would be a MO! instead of a
noncompliance. We discussed 9 CFR 313.2(e) and
the requirement for all animals to have access to
water, and how this could become an issue when
the animals when the animals don’t have enough
room to move freely in the holding pen.

121


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 M46070+P | Marble City Meats LLC KLEO80909 26SEP2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Open Summary/Recommendation: The Following
46070 3426G Humane contains the Verification Plan for Marble City
Handling Meats, LLC. Establishment #M46070, Sylacauga,

AL. All task's were observed and verified on
9/19/2019. The establishment did not conduct
any inspected red meat slaughter operations
outside the aforementioned date. Based on the
plants adherence to their corrective action plan
and regulatory compliance, | recommend the
abeyance continue without any further action at
this time. Handling of Livestock Issue/Action
Plan: Verify that the establishment utilizes an SOP
to not accept hogs with an “atypical head
formation’. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9
CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(3) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
VIII (8) Findings: Based on my review of
establishment records, establishment has
implemented the SOP for animal type
acceptability on 9/18/2019. The SOP for animal
bod e states | (by4)

-” Adaitionally, the
SOP has images of Acceptable and Not Acceptable
animals, Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment maintains two (2) functioning hand
held captive bolts (HHCB), and a third .22 rifle
backup stun weapon, near the stun area, and
during stunning operations. Regulations: 9

CER § 313.15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR §, 313.16(a)(3) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: Based
upon visual observation and record review on
9/19/2019, Establishment had 2 Functioning
captive bolts as well as a third .22 rifle backup
stun weapon near the stun area during stunning
operation. The Establishment repaired and
replaced the springs and the busheling in both
HHCB as well as performed a dry test on all
devices prior to start of slaughter operations.
Establishment pre-op and operational logs as well

57



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
25 | M45554A+ | Great Frontier Meats OXRO7121 040CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | This is to document a meeting between|_(6)(6) |
P45554A+V 05804G Humane and Plant Owner Tom Pioske about Humane
455544 Handling Handling. On the second hog of the morning, the

electric wand was applied without being plugged
in. The employee applying the wand released the
hog within seconds after application and the pig
became fractious. A second application occurred
stopped the activity. Mr. Pioske
wand as not being plugged into an
outlet. The wand tips are circular with an outer
ting of teeth approximately 1/4 inch in length and
an inner spiked tooth extending 1/2 inch. There
was no sings of blood or breakage of the skin
we] ate erry the pig. During this
examination, the pig reacted with a lesser degree
of excitement{_(6)(6)_[and Mr. Pioske discussed
ensuring all stunning equipment was properly
maintained/energized prior to application to
avoid exciting the animal being stunned. Mr.
Pioske understood and agreed.

53



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 82

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
the feed be suitable for the class and age of the
animal.

15 M48144 Abe's Kosher Meats LLC CFR180905 | 17MAY2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On May 16, 2019 at approximately 12:36 pm, |,

2817G Humane went outside to perform
Handling ante-mortem and observe stunning effectiveness.

As | walked outside | saw a driver unloading more
cows. As | came around the corner of the corrals,
| observed the driver raise a shovel over his
shoulder and bring it down and hit a cow in the
head. | observed the driver give the shovel to a
yard person. After the driver hit the cow, the cow
ran out pf the trailer and the driver closed his

ier doo’ erba otified| — (b)(6)
bf the occurrence, and then
ia phone. | then tagged
the stunning box at approximately 12:45 PM with
US Reject tag 837602817.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 92

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI! Agenda
25 M562 JBS Green Bay, Inc. QSM28070 22MAY2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized This MOI is to document events occurt
53222G Humane 5-20-19 and 5-21-19, observed by

Handling On 5-20-19, the establishment was forced to take
an afternoon break about 1:05 pm due to the fact
that a large cow was lodged in the chute. The live
weight of this cow was 2770 pounds. The facilities
and equipment an establishment utilizes need to
be able to manage the size and type of cattle the
establishment intends to harvest. On 5-21-19,
was observing Humane Handling
activities, Category VI — Electric Prod/Alternative
Object Use; Category VIII — Stunning Effectiveness;
and Category IX — Conscious Animals on the Rail in
the establishment's chute leading to the knock
box and in the knock box area.
arrived in the chute at approximately 11:20 am
for about 5 minutes. During that ti

(b)(6) pbserved a barn associate take the air
prod and place it continuously at the hips of a
cow that was 3 animals back from the cow that
was stopped in the chute. The animal in the
chute that was being prodded had no where to
‘opped the activity by telling the
stop prodding the animal as it
had no where to go. The barn associate then put
the air prod down and left the area temporaril
and came back with a rattle paddle.
then proceeded to the knock box to continue
Humane Handling activities, (D6) _|was
leaving the knocking area about 11:35 am and
noticed the head of a cow sitting on the steps
leading up to the blood pit with no identification.

(b\(6) asked the associates in the area about

the head and| (b)(6)

approached the area| (b)(6)fexplained the head
was from a cow that had gotten stuck in the
restrainer. The rest of the carcass associated with
the head was on the production line in the blood

pitareal (b)(6) _ placed retain tag B

45157700 on the head and asked to speak to



47

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
90 | M44779 Spencer County Butcher Block VMV420S0 03JAN2020 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Spencer County Butcher Block (M44779)
14403G Humane Taylorsville, KY engaged in federally inspected
Handling slaughter activity January 2, 2020. The

Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer (SVMO)
made the following observation at approximately
1030 hrs. EST: swine in the swine holding pen
were found to be without access to water. The
swine pen was observed to hold animals of
varying size (20 Ibs. to over 500 Ibs.). Water was
conveyed to the holding pen via a pipe extending
from the ceiling to a “T” with a nipple waterer on
each end; the nipples were suspended roughly 24
inches from the floor (somewhere between knee
and hip high on a human). The SVMO observed a
small black pig (estimated 20 Ibs.) near the nipple
waterers eagerly trying to drink the water that
was falling fram the mouth of a larger pig capable
of reaching and drinking from the nipples; the
nipple waterers were the sole water supply for the

holding pen. Numerous pigs in the 20-30 Ib. range
were observed in the pen (b\(6)

[Die was informed of this observ.
forthcoming documentatio
drum with a nipple waterer at
the smaller pigs inthe pen. The establishment
considers all animals held in the holding pens to
be custom exempt until the time declared for
federal inspection. The above animals had not
been declared for federal inspection at the time of
observation. Directive 5930.1 revision 4 states
that the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and
the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA)
applies to custom exempt animals. The above
observation continues a recent trend in the
handling of custom exempt animals at the
establishment; conditions in the holding pens
involving custom exempt animals have been
documented in MOls dated November 27, 2019,
December 11, 2019, and December 27, 2019.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

implementing humane handling procedures and
applied an establishment reject tag to the stun
box in response to the incident. Denver District
Office was contact through supervisory channels
and (b)(6)_ applied US Reject Tag No.
A1281816 to the stun box. The EIAO continued
to observe slaughter operations, specifically the
sanitary dressing of the market hog and splitting
the carcass and skull. The split skull showed three
netrating stun attempts.
also verified three penetrating stun
attempts of the dressed skull,

05.

M934

Charlie DiMaria & Sons

VMH57150
62504G

04JUN2019

04c02

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

Meeting with Plant management (Daniel Bove)
and__(b(6) __| Items discussed: 1.
Water access in pens: Some pens have water
troughs that have the water valves turned off and
there is very low levels of water for the cows. The
troughs have not been flushed regularly and some
have a green discoloration present. Plant stated
they will work with the pen employees to help fix
this issue. 2. Pens havea buildup of manure:
Some pens (furthest from water hose) have
excessive manure and this will attract flies and
could lead to slips and falls. The large piles of
manure have been removed but continued
maintenance is required. 3. Feed for the cattle is
required every 24 hrs while they are here. The
plant has been using small amounts of hay for the
large amount of cattle presen’ joted
about 4 bales of hay given daily this last Saturday
for the approximate 180 cattle. Today (6/4/19)
the plant has dispensed about 8 - 10 bales for the
same amount of cows. This seems a more
reasonable amount. [(2)@) tated they will be
going to pellets (on order) so they can keep track
of how many bags are used per pen. 4. We also
discussed the weekly meeting and determined
that we work together to determine a time that
works for both of us.

133


Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

planking and unnecessary openings where the
head, feet, or legs of an animal may be injured
shall be repaired. Thus, the establishment has an
obligation to prevent unnecessary openings such
as the observed gap in the unloading ramp as this
presents a real risk for injury to the hogs during
unloading.

117


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
15 M&6R Cargill Meat Solutions EHN35170 O7JUN2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On Monday 6/3/19 at approximately 1830 hours
61007G Humane while conducting humane handling verification
Handling inspection under HATS category VIII: Stunning

Effectiveness at the knocking area, (by(6)

(b)(6)|observed the following events. A stun
was applied with a pneumatic captive bolt toa
market beef in the knock box. The animal
appeared unconscious — the animal’s head
dropped and the body went lax. The knocker
released the animal from the knocking area and
the stunned animal was pulled forward on the
belly conveyor out of the knock box and dropped
onto the shackle table. After it landed on the
shackling belt the animal reflexively rolled from its
right side to a sternal position and the eyes were
starting to blink, but the animal did not react to
its surroundings, did not demonstrate controlled
movements, and was not vocalizing. The knocker
called down to the shackler to knock the animal.
The shackler immediately retrieved the back-up
handheld knocking gun and applied a security
knock. The animal fell on its right side with
tongue out and eyes unresponsive. The shackler
then attempted to apply a second security knock
to the visibly insensible animal. The handheld
captive bolt misfired twice, but worked on the
third attempt and a second security knock was
applied. The animal remained insensible
throughout the security knock attempts. This
raises a concern that the device was not
functioning reliably, which could become a
noncompliance with 9 CFR 313.15(b)(1)(ii). After
reviewing the situation with Dr. Jessica VanHook,
DDM, we determined that this constitutes a
potential vulnerability within your humane

handling system. This information was discussed
withL____ bye) at 2415 on

June 7th, 2019.

126


Table: MO!s in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI! Agenda
15 M9230+P9 | Dayton Natural Meats, LLC KDDO7160 O6JAN2020 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 1030 hours on January 6, 2020,
230 112066 Humane (b)\6) Jinformed &)(6)]
Handling (b)(6) Ithaf (b)(6)_|observed a beef carcass

still breathing after being stunned. Th
(6) stated that she had
checked the eye for movement after the stun was
administered and did not notice any signs of
movement. The animal was then rolled to the
bleed/stick area. Both] (b)(6) |and|__(b)(6)
observed an employee repeatedly stick the animal
to complete the bleeding process.
walked around the bleed basin to stand closer to
the animal and employee conducting the
sticking] (b)(6)
(b)(6) [was instructing the employee on how
to properly place the stick knife wher{(b)(6]
LNT Peeve the hanging beef carcass
exhibit rhythmic breathing and the head draw
slightly upward then move right and left after
each failed stick attempt. The tongue was not
protruding from the mouth. There was no
vocalization| (b)(6) cbserve, OV _|
retrieve the backup hand-held captive bolt device
from the stun area on the other side of the
pivoting metal door which dumps the carcass
from the stun box into the bleed zone}
ministered a second stun which full
rendered the animal unconscious.|__(b)(6)
observed the neck and head become limp and
relaxed.| _(b)(6) did not observe any further
signs of breathing. bE informed|(b)(]
[LO ofa possible humane handling issue and
began collecting information fron] (b)(6) |
and{__(6)(6) _|[-_fivé) _]applied US. Reject

Tag #B35731518 to the stun box.) —_(b)(6)
notified establishment administrato:
zed Oe the incident.
[(s\6] was informed of the incident and contacted
the Denver District Office via supervisory
channels.

131


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

25 M17D+P76 | Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. WLI21161 11DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 1220 hours while performing
13+V17D 23311G Humane verification of HATS Category IX - Conscious

Handling Animals on the Rail, | saw an unconscious hog
gasp three times after being stuck. The employee
that watches this area stopped the line and
grabbed a hand-held captive bolt gun to give a
security knock. When the trigger was pulled the
hand-held captive bolt gun did not fire. The
second hand-held captive bolt gun that is kept in
this area was retrieved there was no round in the
chamber. A round was loaded into the secondary
hand-held captive bolt gun and the security knock
was successfully applied. The hog never regained
consciousness. At approximately 1225 hours
while continuing to monitor this area, | saw
another unconscious hog gasp after being stuck.
The employee in the area pushed the red button
to stop the line, but the line did not stop. He
immediately got the attention of the employee
sticking the hogs and had him stop the line. Once
again, the hand-held captive bolt gun did not fire
when the trigger was pulled despite a round being
loaded. The secondary hand-held captive bolt gun
was used to administer the security knock. The
hog never regained consciousness. After this
seine. AOE bed another
employee came over to check the hand-held
captive bolt guns. Both devices were deemed
mechanically sound. The misfiring of the devices
was deemed to be due to the rounds being
slightly damp due to increased condensation in
the area. The rounds in the area were replaced
with dry charges. The employee that had tried to
stop the line earlier informed
line stop button was malfunctio
spoke with [_ @)6) Ptr ‘their conversation to
let him know what | had seen. | confirmed with
him that it is company policy to always have to
hand-held captive bolt guns loaded and ready to
use in the area, and | informed him that the



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

50

M791c

Clemens Food Group, LLC

Qcr47111
23604G

04DEC2019

04co2

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

I met with Est. _
from approximately 0925-0933 hours today
(12/04/19) in the barn just opposite the

serpentine next to the southwest suspect pen. |
informed him of a truck that | had observed being
unloaded a little after 0700 hours that had an
estimated 20-30% of hogs with mild frostnip.

Upon examining the livestock trailer that these
hogs arrived in | observed that approximately 75%
of the vents were closed, in accordance with
current TQA standards for the current weather
conditions (34F), however | also found
approximately 26 individual vents that were open
at “hog level”, whereas the TQA version 6
Handbook (p. 34) states that there should be “No
open vents in direct contact with pigs’. The driver
delivering these hogs had a current TQA
certification (exp. 10/21). Although | did not
observe the affected hogs to be in any form of
distress, the number of hogs exhibiting this minor
form of thermal injury did seem to correspot
with the number of vents open at hog leve|
) lindicated that he would have CFG hog
procurement notify producers of this issue so that
it could be corrected. | also indicated tq
[LX Hhat it would be reasonable to expect an
establishment with a robust animal welfare
program to document such findings as well as any
corrective actions taken.

50

M791C

Clemens Food Group, LLC

QCF58131
23618G

18DEC2019

04co2

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

On Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at
approximately 1220 hours| (b\(6) met

with (NS) ind (b\(6)
(b)(6) _ |concerning the grated flooring above

thedrains[ (bys) _Jexpressed her

concern that hogs could get their foot caught in
the floor drainage trough, if the grating over these
troughs was not properly maintained and
monitored.

110


Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: No
inspected Slaughter operations performed during
the verified time period. !ssue/Action Plan: Verify
that the stun operators are trained and have
successfully passed the establishment's test, prior
to the stun operator being allowed to resume the
actions of stunning. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Training was completed on 9/18/2019. No
additional training has been performed or
recorded. Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment has verifiable procedures for stun
weapon cleaning, maintenance, and charge
selection and usage. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv), 9
CFR § 313,15(b)(1)(ii), 9 CFR § 313.16(b) (1)(ii)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon record review of establishments
weapon maintenance log, establishment has.
documented that they have cleaned Captive Bolt
#1 & 2 as well as .22 Caliber rifle on Saturday,
December 21 and Monday December 29, 2019.
Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the establishment
has provided and posted stunning “landmark
charts” and that such are clearly posted in
slaughter room and near stun area. Regulations:
9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9 CFR§
313.15(b)(1){iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv). PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Establishment placed two (2) landmark charts in
the slaughter room on 9/18/2019. The Charts are
clearly posted and visible from any spot in the
room. No additional information has been added.
Inspection program personnel will continue to
perform the PHIS Inspection Task to verify the
adequacy and effectiveness of the establishment’s

70


56

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
90 M46070+P | Marble City Meats LLC KLE441209 O9SEP2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Finalized | On Monday, September 9, 2019 at approximately
46070 3609G Humane 11:35am, while performing Humane Handling
Handling Task, (Category 8) on the last inspected animal of

theday___(ox6) observed

establishment owner/ HACCP Coordinator
Matthew Lawrence performing Stunning
procedures on a Kune-kune pig over the age of
two. Establishment uses a hand held captive bolt
(HHCB) as their primary and secondary stunning
method. On his first attempt it was ineffective.
The owner immediately retrieved his backup
HHCB, which was in arms reach resting on
scalding machine, and immediately conducted the
second attempt. The Second attempt was also
ineffective, failing to render animal insensible.
Owner reloaded the primary HHCB and issued the
third attempt which was ineffective, again failing
to render animal insensible. The owner reloaded
backup HHCB and delivered the fourth attempt,
again ineffective. The owner then retrieved a .22
Caliber Rifle from his from porch, approximately
200ft away. The first attempt with the rifle (Sth
overall) was also ineffective at rendering the
animal insensible. Finally, On the second rifle
attempt (6th overall) the animal was rendered
insensible and remained so thereafter]

(b)6) tagged the knocking box with

US REJECT Tag # B-45 308594, and contacted his
[ (b)(6) |



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
a “prompt” or timely manner. [yey Jwas
informed of the forthcoming non-compliance
record and MOI.
90 M7356+P7 | Harmon Brothers Meats, Inc. | 1JK2212075 18JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | The Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer
356+V7356 718G Humane (SVMO) and Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) were
Handling observing kill floor activity at Harmon Bros. Meats

(M7356) Warsaw, KY at approximately 1215 hrs,
EDT. After placing mature sheep in the knock box,
kill floor personnel raised the side of the knock
box and were observed grabbing an animal by the
front leg thereby casting the animal to its side and
proceeded to drag the conscious animal on its
side for approximately 5 feet to the site where the
ritual cut was made on the neck of the animal.
This observation was brought to the attention of
Mr. Dave Harmon, owner of the establishment,
who was advised of the regulatory control action
being taken with the placement of “U.S. Rejected”
tag number B37427566 on the knock box by IPP.
The chain of command for the Office of Field
Operations (OFO) Jackson District was notified of
the action taken at the establishment.

105


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
15 M322+V32 | Double J Meat Packing, Inc. QOE30100 15JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On July 11, 2019, at approximately 7:45a.m.,
2 72415G Humane (b)(6) notified me
Handling {__()6)___|that there was a bison on his back he

needed to shoot. | followed (b)(6)  Jout to the
pens. When | arrived, | saw a bison in the alley
down on his back leaning towards his left side,
facing south (opposite direction) of the knocking
box. The animal back legs were wrapped up
in-between the bars, head lying against the side
panel along the ground. The animal appeared to
be very work up and breathing very heavily. The
section of the alley way that the bison was
trapped was approximately 2 % -3 ft wide. Do to
these factors it was not possible to get the bison
up. Therefore, the company made the decision to
shoot the animal. Unfortunately do to the
awkward position of the head it was hard to get a
clean shot. It took 3 shots in a period of
approximant 10 to 12 mins, before the animal no
longer showed signs of sensibility and no longer

had rhythmic breathing (bX6)
Cpa Jan mployee who shot the
animal), both verified the animal was dead before

they dragged the animal out of the alley way and
brought it inside to be harvested. This MOI is to
remind Double J Meat Packing of the FSIS
requirements of Handling livestock in 9CFR 313.2.
Which states “Driving of livestock from the
unloading ramps to the holding pens and from the
holding pens to the stunning area shall be done
with a minimum of excitement and discomfort to
the animal. Livestock shall not be forced to move
faster than a normal walking speed.”

30



26

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
50 M2926 Pork King Packing, Inc. ODK30160 O9SEP2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Open While doing antemortem inspection of hogs in
94309G Humane pens 4 at about 1pm, | found one of the large
Handling drain grates approximately 1 foot long by 8 inches

wide, completely removed and moved to the
opposite side of the pen. This pen was holding
approximately 30 market hogs at the time. |
called over barn personnel to replace the grate
and have them notify maintenance. This grate
had previously been able to be removed by the
hogs and was since modified with a large
basket-like welding attached to the bottom as the
fix so the hogs could not pull it up. This
modification is not working. With the grate out
of place, when the hogs were moved away from
the area to put it back in place, 2 hogs stepped
into the hole to the basket below. This is cause
for concern as this step could easily cause injury
to the hogs, especially injuries such as broken
legs, bruises, etc. Maintenance was called to the
barn to see the problem. Later | was informed
that due to other maintenance issues in the plant,
the grates would not be fixed that night but
possibly the next night. This is a recurring
problem as 2 weeks earlier | had pointed out a
drain grate out of place in pen 6 that sows had
rooted up. This is an area of concern that needs to
be addressed immediately with some sort of
permanent mechanism that will not allow for
hogs to remove it any more. This issue should
have been addressed as part of the robust
systematic approach to humane handling system
that Pork King has in place.



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

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Code

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is reminded of 9 CFR 313.2(d)(1) which states in
part that “(D)isabled animals and other animals
unable to move shall be separated from normal
ambulatory animals” and per the establishment’s
Humane Handling Workbook “(A)ny injuries seen
will be evaluated as to severity and best course of
action will be determined to minimize animal
suffering. If the animal's injury is deemed by HHC
to be of low severity the animal will be unloaded
marked for priority slaughter of the day.” Likewise
from the Humane Handling Workbook, “Food and
water troughs/buckets, will be inspected for
cleanliness.”

109


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

90 M44779 Spencer County Butcher Block VMV09130 | 22MAY2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Faulkner Meats (M44779) Taylorsville, KY holds
51022G Humane animals on the premises which the establishment

Handling considers to be custom exempt until they are
declared for federal inspection. While the
establishment did engage in federally inspected
slaughter activities this day, the following
observations involving the custom exempt
animals were made by the SVMO at
approximately 1330 hrs. EDT: - © Alarge boar
(greater than 500 Ib.) was observed without
access to water. The bottom portion of the plastic
drum being used as a water trough was empty;
the automatic waterer in the back corner of the
pen was observed crushed against the wall. -

A large pen holding lambs and sheep ranging in
size from roughly 40 Ibs. to 200 Ibs. was observed
with feces covered flooring; the bedding
component was minimal and mostly wet;
puddling was observed (urine?)in one area of the
pen; pelts on the majority of the animals was
contaminated with fecal; one lamb was observed
in a moribund state; one small automatic waterer
(1-2 gallon bowl capacity?) was functional and
insufficient for the volume of animals (number too
numerous to count) in the pen in the SVMO’s
opinion. A second small automatic waterer in
another section of the pen contained no water
(functional?). The establishment is once again
reminded that the FMIA (Federal Meat Inspection
Act) and the HMSA (Humane Methods of
Slaughter Act) applies to custom exempt livestock
per USDA FSIS Directive 5930.1 revision 4.



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

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MOINbr

Date

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Code

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Status

MO! Agenda

weather expected,
right away to fix it.

he called maintenance out

119


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

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MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(ii), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon my review of Establishment records,
Establishment created a SOP for Stunning weapon
Maintenance and implemented SOP on 10/10/19.
SOP{ (b)(4) ]
(by) The Captive bolt devices will
Vea euata, and rubber chamber replaced
after every 200 stuns. The Maintenance of the
stunning weapons are documented on the “Gun
Maintenance Record Log”. The Establishment
documented on 10/6/2019 that they cleaned and
returned it back to operational standards,
Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the establishment
has provided and posted stunning “landmark
charts” and that such are clearly posted in
slaughter room and near stun area. Regulations:
9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9
CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9
CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon direct visual observation,
Establishment placed two (2) landmark charts in
the slaughter room near the knocking box, One
chart is the procedures for Humane Euthanasia of
Beef located on the wall near the scalder, while
the other is the Anatomical site for Livestock
Euthanasia located next to knocking box door.
Both charts are from the University of lowa
College of Veterinary Medicine. The Charts are
clearly posted and visible from any spot in the
room. Inspection program personnel will
perform the PHIS Inspection Task to verify the
adequacy and effectiveness of the establishment’s
Humane Slaughter program including all
procedures specified therein

62



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
50 M85B Swift Pork Company GYM24020 14JAN2020 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On January 13, 2020 at approximately 18:08,
10414G Humane while | was performing HATS task II (Truck
Handling Unloading) as part of humane handling

verification, | was observing unloading at dock 4.
The unloading ramp was elevated in the barn to
meet the ramp from the second level of the hog
trailer. As | observed a hog came down the ramp
as part of a group and then backed up slightly and
its back leg fell through a hole in the unloading
ramp. The hog pulled its leg out and then as
another group of hogs was pushed down the
ramp the hog backed up again and it appeared
both back legs fell into the hole in the ramp and
the hog fell to its belly on the unloading ramp. |
called to the barn personnel to try to get them to
stop hogs from running over the down hog,
However, the hog was able to free itself and come
down the ramp before other hogs ran over it, | did
not see signs of obvious injury. | approached the
unloading ramp, and on closer examination, the
unloading ramp flaps that were positioned to
cover the gap between the truck and ramp had
not been flipped over on each side of the ramp.
This left a gap of approximately 10-12 cm by
16-18 cm on the right side of the ramp where the
hog had fallen through. The left side also had a
slightly smaller gap. | i ae
of my observations and he observed the gaps on
each side of the ramp. He clarified with the
trucker that all the hogs had been unloaded. He
confirmed that the last group pushed down the
ramp had been the last in the truck. | also
informed] (bY(6) JoF
these findings and notified him an MOI would be
documented. 9 CFR section 313.1 states: (a)
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. Loose boards, splintered or broken

116


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 80

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

that when the pen gate is opened, the cattle can
easily view the exit and where to move instead of
circling in the pens. This is also a potential partial
solution but will not solve the larger issue of the
flooring being too smooth.
that he will begin working on the problem and

keep[ (Xe) | updated with the
establishment's research and progress. When no
more questions were asked, | (b)(@)
thanked|_(b)(6)_|for his time and the meeting
was adjourned.



32

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
25 M34384+V | Elkton Locker and Grocery, Inc. TLN360806 19JUN2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On Monday, June 17th, during a DVMS follow-up
34384 2219G Humane verification visit, irregular post-stun movements
Handling were observed on the third sheep. The

movements included movements of the chest and
abdominal wall that were suggestive of rhythmic
respiratory efforts and head and neck movements
that mimicked a righting reflex. There was not a
progression of signs signaling an imminent return
to consciousness. A review of all four sheep heads
revealed a consistent projectile path the only
barely impacted the very front of the brain and in
the case of the third sheep, the projectile path
missed the brain by approximately 1.cm. The
head catch in the knocking chute causes the head
of sheep to be held in a very acute angle with the
plane of the poll to nose being almost vertical.
Consequently, the rifle needs to be held an at
upward angle in a confined area. Based on these
findings, FSIS IPP suggest continued ongoing
review of split heads to monitor projectile paths
so any changes in stunning technique or
ammunition that may cause altered penetration
can be identified and addressed.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 98

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

50 M6785 Bob Evans Farms Inc. NRL120804 29APR2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On Wednesday 4/24/2019 at approximately 2 pm
1429G Humane while performing the Livestock Humane Handling

Handling task, | observed the

following situation. | observed the truck driver
unloading the sows off the trailer into the barn.
During the entire 10 minutes that | observed him
unload the sows he was carrying a hot shot
(electric prod) and occasionally touching moving
sows with it. | noticed that some of the sows
vocalized and picked up their walking pace once
they were touched with the hot shot. | never
noticed the truck driver put the hot shot down.
Once all the sows were unloaded | then asked the
truck driver if he used electricity on every sow
every time he touched them with the end of the
hot shot. He said no and that his trigger finger was
only resting on the trigger. _| then informed the

(b)(6) bf my
observation and told him that | had no proof that
the truck driver was not shocking the sows every
time he touched the sows with the hot shot. | also
informed him that | believed that the truck driver
used the hot shot excessively. [[ji(Ithen informed
me that he would be getting in touch with the
truck driver. He also informed me off_(ye)_]
protocol when it comes to truck drivers using the
electric hot shot.[__(b)/6) | protocol is that the
truck drivers are not to hold a hot shot while
unloading sows at all unless the establishment
gives them permission to do so. 9CFR 313.2
Handling of livestock (b) Electric prods, canvas
slappers, or other implements employed to drive
animals shall be used as little as possible in order
to minimize excitement and injury. Any use of
such implements which in the opinion of the
inspector, is excessive, is prohibited.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task

MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

employees were reaching over the walls from an
adjacent pen to move the hogs, they were still
moving them in a way that forced the hogs to
walk over each other to avoid the employees and
resulting in all the hogs piled at one end of the

nen_Lagain discussed my concerns with
(by) and later ea al

iterated the necessity to protect
tl gs that are disabled from potentially being
trampled or crushed. stated that he
would discuss the issue wi ie facility manager
to develop solutions. Antemortem handling
improved on 4/19/2019, with the barn employees
moving hogs to adjacent pens for antemortem
inspection] (0X6) —ptated that he informed
establishment management of the humane
handling concerns. Additionally, at 1530, while

walking back from antemortem inspection with
Lee) observed an employee use and
electric prod on a hog in the chute to the stunning
conveyor at least five times in succession. | told
(ae the employee that it was
unacceptable to repeatedly use an electric prod
ona hog. 9 CFR 313.2(b) states that electric prods
shall be used as little as possible in order to

minimize excitement and injury.

13


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 81

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
50 M47040+P | Indiana Halal Farms LLC EYZ120602 OSFEB2020 | O4CO02 | Livestock Finalized | At the conclusion of the slaughter process on
47040 1605G Humane February 3, 2024 (b)(6) _ inquired with the kill
Handling floor employees if there were animals left in the

barn that would be held overnight. The response
was yes and a breakdown of what animals were in
the barn was given including 2 baby calves or bob
veal. then went to the barn with the
employee responsible for feeding the animals to
observe the food source they have available f¢
each class of animal. Upon entering the bar
served the 5 sheep were in a pen wi
adequate room to move around as well as lay
down at their leisure. The sheep had been given
an adequate amount of hay and the water trough
was full. The next pen observed had 3 total calves
in it including 1 small started calf and 2 bob veal
calves. There was an adequate amount of hay
and a full trough of water in the pen.} (b)(6)
evaluated the 2 bob veal calves and determined
that the hay was not considered the most
appropriate feed source for the age of the animal.
The last and final pen had 1 older beef in it with a
pile of hay anda trough full of water{__(b)(6)_|
asked the employee if they had any other food
options for the bob veal calves. He stated that he
did not know and deferred the conversation to
the plant owner Mr. Farook Abashaer.
then went to the office and spoke with Mr.
Abashaer explaining that the age of the bob veal
calves was too young to think that hay was an
acceptable feed source due to the lack of
rumination in those animals. It was also discussed
what options there may be for that class and age
of animal. Mr. Abashear responded by stating
that he would contact the producer and get some
milk to feed the calves yet that afternoon. The
regulatory expectation of providing feed if animals
are to be held for 24 or more hours was discussed
per 9 CFR 313.2e as well as the expectation that



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 87

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

office can consider the following: Does the
establishment have a written, proffered, and
demonstrated “Robust” Systematic Humane
Handling plan? Does the establishment have a
good history of Humane Handling? Note that
these examples provided are not all that is
considered of whether an incident is
recommended for a potential NOIE in lieu of
immediate suspension without prior notification.
Recently audited by (6x6) __Jon 8/14/19 the
program was described as: The establishment
operates in a systematic manner for humane
handling and slaughter, and as a written animal
welfare plan. As discussed in the exit meeting with

“The program
addresses most of the steps outlined in Federal
Register Notice Docket No,04-013N, Humane
Handling and Slaughter Requirements and the
Merits of a Systematic Approach to Meet Such
Requirements and follows some of the
recommendations in Directive 6900.2 Rev. 2
Humane Handling and Slaughter of Livestock,
Attachment 3; Elements of a Robust Systematic
Approach to Humane Handling and Slaughter
(page 32).” The program is not robust, as not all
steps are addressed and the program has not
been implemented as written, so the portions of
the Directive involving consideration of robust
status in the event that an egregious event occurs
would not apply to this plant at this time.



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
25 M1962+P1 | Perry Way Foods, LLC LINO90608 21AUG2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 0630 hours on 08/02/2019
962 3121G Humane while verifying the establishment's
Handling implementation of their humane handling

program at the stunning area (HATS Cate IX
Conscious Animals on the Rail)| over]
observed a sow hung on the rail in the blood pit
area following proper electrical stunning being

by a relatively recently hired employee(s (6)
oted that the sow did not appear to be
bleeding effectively from the stick. The sow was
demonstrating signs to indicate she was possibly
on the verge of returning to consciousness such as
slow back-and-forth eye movements and arching
of the back to the side. The sow was not noted to
be vocalizing. Another establishment employee
noticed that the sow was demonstrating possible
signs of return to consciousness and called over a
third establishment employee, who proceeded to
restick the hanging sow, at which point she began
to flail. After the second stick, the sow bled out
and exhibited death. Given that these signs were
suggestive of return to consciousness and a
possible egregious humane handling issue,
laced a “U.S. Rejected” tag (#B33511393)
on the entrance to the stunning area, and
informed establishment management of this.
incident and the regulatory control action taken.
After correlation with the District Office and
DVMS about the incident, it was determined that
the establishment should be issued a humane
handling MO! because the sow was not
demonstrating conclusive signs of full return to
consciousness. Following this determination by
the District Office} removed the U.S.
Rejected tag from the entrance to the stunning
area and allowed the plant to resume production.
At this timd (6)

met with the establishment management to
discuss the incident. The establishment explained
that it has in place a robust humane handling

9


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
50 M85B Swift Pork Company GYM41031 01DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On November 30, 2019 at approximately 17:59,
24101G Humane while performing antemortem examination in the
Handling livestock barn, | was observing truck unloading at

‘the unloading docks. As | was observing at the
fourth unloading dock, | noted a single hog was
on the ramp of the trailer facing up the ramp and
not moving. | saw the trucker approach the front
of the hog as it stood on the ramp. Then the
trucker’s paddle struck the hog in the face, the
hog jerked its head and squealed. The paddle then
struck the hog in the face two times in quick.
succession with the hog jerking its head both
times and squealing both times and then it
started to turn to go down the ramp. | then
proceeded to the unloading gate to get the
attention of livestock personnel. | notified the

(b\(6) lof what | had seen and he
then went into the trailer to speak to the driver.
(aie arrived, and | also
explained to him what | had seen, He stated he
would review the video and speak to the trucker.
He stated he would forward this information to

(b)(6)
for further review. | informed him that | would
create an MOI to document my observations.

115


Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

85

Dist
rict

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MOINbr

Date

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Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

manager will verify on a monthly basis that the
daily preventive maintenance is being
documented.” And: ““JJ Meats Robust Humane
Handling Program Section 313.3 Stunning
Methods-Mechanical Captive Bolt/Hantover
Pneumatic Power Knocker” indicates that the
establishment will have clearly numbered captive
bolt stunners and will document preventive
maintenance being applied prior to each
production shift” “J Meat Company will ensure
the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for
Sanitation/Maintenance of Stunning devices is
being implemented for the Hantover Power
Knocker and the Jarvis Captive Bolt Stunner.”



Table: MOl!s in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 M8078+P8 | Boone's Abattoir, Inc. APM14070 13JUN2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized Livestock pen had no water available to animals
078+V8078 63713G Humane this morning. Water was running but all the hoses
Handling going to troughs were displaced not allowing
water to fill the troughs, all the water was going
on floor instead.
50 M85B Swift Pork Company GYM15160 04JUN2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 8:20am while exiting the scale
64004G Humane house with pen cards | observed a livestock
Handling employee attempting to close a gate. He paddled

a hog that seemed to be having some difficulty

with it's hind legs and wasn't moving very well. It
didn't rise to the level of inhumane handling, but |
did believe he should have noticed this hog was in

distress and ceased using the paddle to try to
drive the animal. | noe 00"
asked her to review the video as I don't think i

was overly aggressive, but should result in review
especially since this employee has a gold hat
training with him.[(b)6)] directly addressed the
event with the employee before | left the barn and
agreed to review the video and follow up as
necessary.

im


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 96

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rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

[ (b)(4) |of this
issue. The fact that the wrong carcass was tagged
as a suspect animal is a potential food safety issue
because while the marked carcass was
appropriately condemned, a suspicious carcass
that potentially had excessive medicinal/chemical
residues went unmarked and untested. Since | did
not personally verify that the tag was affixed to
the correct cow leaves the possibility that this
incident was simply a case of miscommunication,
and not an intentional switch to a different cow
likely to be condemned, Plant Manager Rafael
Gomez informed me that he would talk to the
antemortem handlers to make sure an incident
like this does not happen again.



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

period. |ssue/Action Plan: Verify that the stun
operators are trained and have successfully
passed the establishment's test, prior to the stun
operator being allowed to resume the actions of
stunning. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9
CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
VIII (8) Findings: Training was completed on
9/18/2019. No additional training has been
performed or recorded. Issue/Action Plan: Verify
that the establishment has verifiable procedures
for stun weapon cleaning, maintenance, and
charge selection and usage. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv), 9
CFR § 313,15(b)(1)(ii), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon record review of establishments
weapon maintenance log, establishment has.
documented that they have cleaned Captive Bolt
#1 & 2 as well as .22 Caliber rifle on Saturday,

19 @ 26, 2019. Issue/Action Plan: Verify that
the establishment has provided and posted
stunning “landmark charts” and that such are
clearly posted in slaughter room and near stun
area. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9
CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv). PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
VIII (8) Findings: Establishment placed two (2)
landmark charts in the slaughter room on
9/18/2019. The Charts are clearly posted and
visible from any spot in the room. No additional
information has been added. Inspection
program personnel will perform the PHIS
Inspection Task to verify the adequacy and
effectiveness of the establishment’s Humane
Slaughter program including all procedures
specified therein



60

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
90 | M46070+P | Marble City Meats LLC KLE381110 | 210CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Open —_| Handling of Livestock Summa
46070 1021G Humane { (b)(6) covered for (b)(6)
Handling on 10/10/2019. The Following contains the

Verification Plan for Marble City Meats, LLC.
Establishment #M46070, Sylacauga, AL. All tasks
were observed and verified on 10/10/2019. The
establishment did not conduct any inspected red
meat slaughter operations outside that date.
Establishment Owner/Manager Matthew
Lawrence informed inspection personnel that due
to his new outside job responsibilities the
establishment would not conduct any inspected
red meat slaughter operations for several of the
upcoming weeks. No timeline was given as to
when establishment would start back operations.
Based on the plants adherence to their corrective
action plan and regulatory compliance, |
recommend the abeyance continue without any
further action at this time. Issue/Action Plan:
Verify that the establishment utilizes an SOP to
not accept hogs with an “atypical head
formation”. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9
CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9
CFR § 313.16(a)(3) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
VIII (8) Findings: Based on my review of
establishment records, establishment has
implemented the SOP for animal type
acceptability on 10/10/2019. The SOP for animal
body type states| (by(4)

(bya) ” Additionally, the
SOP has images of Acceptable and Not Acceptable
animals, |ssue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment maintains two (2) functioning hand
held captive bolts (HHCB), and a third .22 rifle
backup stun weapon, near the stun area, and
during stunning operations. Regulations: 9
CER § 313.15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9
CFR § 313,15(a)(3), 9 CFR §, 313.16(a)(3) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: Based
upon visual observation and record review,



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 22

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

25 M253 Long Prairie Packing Company, LLC AGL260912 26DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | 12/17/2019 Time: 10:03 AM Central Time
26266 Humane Location: Long Prairie Pack At approximately

Handling 10:03 AM on December 17, 2019, | was walking
back to the restrainer and carousel area (zone 1)
to perform HATS task IX, return to consciousness.
While | was back by the driving lanes to the
restrainer, | noticed a black angus cow that had
been stunned with a hand-held captive bolt
followed by a jugular stick (| did not witness the
cow being euthanized) lying in the right lane
leading to the restrainer with a chain around her
neck. The cow was lying in the left lateral
position and was moving her right eye and
blinking. At the position that | was at, | was
unable to determine if there was any eye
tracking. In addition to the eye movements, the
cow was letting out deep agonal gasps
consistently every couple of seconds. In between
these gasps, the cow had a deep muffled groaning
noise that was also consistenth uirring ears
F (b)(6)
couple of seconds. | informe:
(6) Jand| (bi(6) hat this

animal needed to be stunned again. A plant
employee stunned the cow with a hand-held
captive bolt with 2 additional security knocks.
After the first stun, the eye movement stopped
completely. A couple minutes after the security
stuns, the cow started to let out slow, deep
agonal gasps again. No additional signs of
returning to consciousness were seen at this
time. The establishment employee then extended
the cut on the neck of the cow.
informed me that when the cow
did not witness any signs that the cow was
conscious/returning to consciousness. | stayed
and verified no additional movements or reflexes
occurred and that the cow was unconscious. Once
that was confirmed, | informed the plant that no
additional knocking could occur. | informed the
plant that they could run out the line of the



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

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EstName

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MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

51

a slaughter floor employee and was not
authorized to use the prod{ (bys) | as not
it at the time the incident started
then allowed the black cow to back out
of the chute and return to the pens. After my
discussion with [ oe | returned to the
slaughter floor and spoke td_(b)(6) to gather
further details of the incident. At 3:40PM | placed
a US Rejected tag (B 30 665850) on the stunning
area and informed (b)(6) hat
slaughter was immediately suspended based on

the inhumane event!



55

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
mentioned that the establishment is considering
reintroducing their written records of animal
handling in the barn and stunning effectiveness.
as | maso4g Ida-Beef LLC AKL271505 | 29MAY2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 0819 hours I[ (bs) —_|
5729G Humane was called to verify stunning of a non-ambulatory
Handling dairy cow in the holding pens. | proceeded to the

holding pens to verify. | observed the stun
operator and the quality assurance monitor were
inside the pen with the non-ambulatory dairy
cow. | observed the stun operator holding the
primary hand-held captive bolt (HHCB) device and
the quality assurance monitor holding a back-up
HHCB device. The stun operator applied the first
stun attempt to the non-ambulatory dairy cow. |
observed the rod of the primary HHCB contact the
cow’s skull. | observed a dark gray spot with hair
sticking out on the cow’s skull. | observed the
cow was on its sternum with its legs underneath it
when the first stunning attempt was applied.
Following the first stunning attempt, the cow
remained conscious with eyes wide open and
blinking, ears erect and started to crawl away.
The cow did not vocalize, | observed the stun
operator reload the primary HHCB by unscrewing
the gun, removing the shell and the quality
assurance monitor placed a new shell in the gun,
then the stun operator screwed the HHCB device
back together. The stun operator applied a second
stun attempt, which rendered the cow
unconscious. | observed the stun operator
retrieve the back-up HHCB device from the quality
assurance monitor and apply a security stun to
the pole of the cow. | placed U.S. Retain Tag
#B45142233 to the stun box.
verified three stun holes had penetrated the cow’s
skull.”



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
0s M4969+P4 | JJ Meat Co. JCO001508 16AUG2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On August 12, 2019 at approximately 1906 hours,
969 2516G Humane (b)(6) lobserved two mis-fires of the
Handling power-knocker during multiple stun attempts

when an establishment employee was euthanizing
a bob veal calf for production. At approximately
1915 hours, |
establishments Handling Maintenance
records. | observed the last record for
maintenance of the Power Knocker to have been
recently dismantled and cleaned on 8/4/19,
although no establishment employee initial was
documented on the form. At approximately 1920
hours, Plant Manager Javier Juarez Jr. and |
(b)(6) | reviewed the previously acceptable
penetration depth that was performed before the
operation of slaughter for bob veal. Then, we
reviewed the most recently performed acceptable
penetration depth of the Power Knocker before
resuming operations. After resuming operations,
the bob veal was humanely stunned at
approximately 1925 hours. USDA IPP continues to
advise further continuation of maintaining HH
Maintenance records to support their Humane
Handling Program. Previously at JJ Meats, a
humane handling suspension occurred on April 3,
2019 in which the plant stated it was due partially
to equipment error. Described in the Verification
Plan as: “The establishment conducted an internal
review and concluded that a “combination of
equipment and operator error occurred” and as
such has ordered a new stunner”. Corrective
actions listed in the verification plan were: “The
establishment updated the “JJ Meats Robust
Humane Handling Program”, dated April 4, 2018,
and proffered to follow and implement all aspects
of the program. Specifically, the establishment
has included the following oversight procedures in
the humane handling program: The Pen Foreman
and Assistant Pen Foreman will ensure that daily
preventive maintenance is documented. The plant

84



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
25 M2460+P2 | Cimpl's, Inc. PMB12040 28AUG2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On the morning of August 28, 2019, |
460 81328G Humane [y6) performed an odd-hours.
Handling inspection of the barn and animal-handling

facilities. During this inspection | found the
following concerns: 1. There is a sharp edge on a
piece of sheet metal on the side door to the
alternate knock box. 2. The water guard in Pen 7
is broken and hanging loose on one side.

7


Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

59

Based upon my review of Establishment records,
Establishment created a SOP for Stunning weapon
Maintenance and implemented SOP on 9/18/19.
SOP state that establishment will clean all stun
weapons weekly. The Captive bolt devices will
have their springs and rubber chamber replaced
after every 200 stuns. The Maintenance of the
stunning weapons are documented on the “Gun
Maintenance Record Log”. The Establishment
documented on 9/18/2019 that they replaced
springs and rubber busheling/chamber, cleaned
and returned it back to operational standards.
Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the establishment
has provided and posted stunning “landmark
charts” and that such are clearly posted in
slaughter room and near stun area. Regulations:
9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon direct visual observation on
9/19/2019, Establishment placed two (2)
landmark charts in the slaughter room near the
knocking box. One chart is the procedures for
Humane Euthanasia of Beef located on the wall
near the scalder, while the other is the Anatomical
site for Livestock Euthanasia located next to
knocking box door. Both charts are from the
University of lowa College of Veterinary Medicine.
The Charts are clearly posted and visible from any
spot in the room. Inspection program personnel
will perform the PHIS Inspection Task to verify the
adequacy and effectiveness of the establishment’s
Humane Slaughter program including all
procedures specified therein



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

holes are spaced approximately 1 inch apart with
the first shot being the middle shot. This shot is
level with the eyes. The two bottom shots were
the second and third shot, and the top of the “L”
is the shot from the .308 rifle. This was confirmed
with Grant Hardesty. While the establishment
did develop a written systematic approach to
humane handling in response to the previous
suspension, this plan is not yet considered robust
due to the previous suspension and the recent NR.



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

both check for signs of consciousness on every
animal. The retraining will also include
procedures to follow if signs of consciousness or
returning to consciousness are observed.
Specifically, the establishment will immediately
re-stun any animal observed to be conscious or
exhibiting signs of returning to consciousness.
Either the primary pneumatic or back-up
hand-held captive bolt stunning device will be
used for re-stuns with the decision based on
which is closest and will ensure the quickest
effective re-stun. The establishment will increase
their humane handling audit assessments from
twice weekly to once daily for two weeks. If no
additional issues are observed, the humane
handling audits will return to twice weekly. After
review of the establishment's corrective actions,
the US Reject tag was removed from the
pneumatic captive bolt stunning device at 0835
on January 3, 2020.

76


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
40 | M337+V33_ | STX Beef Company UNG14080 26JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | An anti mortem inspection was done by [Coxe]
7 74126G Humane {_(6) today @ 7:30 am. He found one
Handling cattle dead in pen 11 and gave me 10 pen cards

and one FSIS FORM 6150-1 the corresponding
data filled up except the post mortem report.
After | settled my things in the office, |
immediately conducted an investigation on this
matter. | was met of ae id
detail at the stockyard that does the receiving,
unloading and depositing the cattle in the
respective pens. The said cattle was removed
from pen #11and moved to the back area of the
hide building where | examined the animal. The
cattle had a deep gapping wound on the right
hindleg on the lateral side and a foot from the
ground/hoof. The wound was very deep that upon
palpation | could feel the torn arterial blood
vessel. The mucus membrane of the mouth and
the tongue was pale white instead of the normal
pinkish white color.The cattle died of blood
loss/exsanguination. The wound was inflicted
yesterday evening when the cattle were delivered
and it's been 24 hours enough time to bleed out
the cattle from the arterial vessel cut. | inspected
pen #11 together with[ (s)(6) pnd] (b)(6)

(b)(6), letailed at the stock yard, and
we were able to identify the place were the injury
occurred. It was assumed that the metal base
hinge of the iron pipe fence could be the source of
injury. | suggested that the metal base be
trimmed to prevent another incident. At 11:00
am | returned to the site of injury and | found out
that the metal base had been trimmed and also in
pen s#12 and #13.

31



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 74

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

why there was a delay in the knocking of the cow.
| expressed my concerns about the cow being in
obvious pain and struggling to rise. |(b
that he would talk to the appropriate managers to
figure out how to make the HHCBs available first
thing in the morning for use.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 67

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

90 M46070+P | Marble City Meats LLC KLE410912 03DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Handling of Livestock Summary: The following
46070 4403G Humane contains the Verification Plan for Marble City

Handling Meats, LLC. Establishment #M46070, Sylacauga,
AL, The establishment did not conduct any
inspected red meat slaughter operations during
this two-week period. Last verification was
conducted on 10/10/2019. It is unknown when
establishment will start back slaughter operations.
| recommend continuing the abeyance until the
plant can show continued compliance
Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the establishment

utilizes an SOP (b)(4)
(by4) Regulations: 9

CFR § 313,15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(3) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: No Red
Meat slaughter inspected operations performed
during the verified time period, Issue/Action
Plan: Verify that the establishment maintains two
(2) functioning hand held captive bolts (HHCB),
and a third .22 rifle backup stun weapon, near the
stun area, and during stunning operations.
Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR §,
313.16(a)(3) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8)
Findings: Based upon visual observation and
record review, Establishment had 2 Functioning
captive bolts as well as a third .22 rifle backup
stun weapon near the stun area, Issue/Action
Plan: Verify that the establishment, if necessary,
upon need for a third stun to render an animal
insensible, utilizes the .22 rifle for said third stun
attempt. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9
CFR § 313,16(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: No
inspected Slaughter operations performed during
the verified time period. Issue/Action Plan: Verify
that the stun operators are trained and have
successfully passed the establishment's test, prior
to the stun operator being allowed to resume the



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
15 |M27472 | Noah's Ark Processors, LLC DROS6121 | 12NOV2019 | 04C02 | Livestock _| Finalized _| Observations at the roll box area by|_(b5) |
15212G Humane [(@)@Jon 11.10.2019 On 11.10.2019 at
Handling approximately 0700 hours | was standing on the

platform near the secondary stun box observing
the establishment test out a newly fabricated
carcass separation system for the stack wh
employee who does the shackling alerte
ea contact the kill
‘supervisors because there were two animals in the
roll box. From my position | could not observe
what was going on, but there was obvious

urgency in the way the establishment personnel
were reacting to the situation. By the time | made
it down to the roll box area, the first animal that
was restrained in the roll box had received the
ritual slaughter cut and had already been released
from the box and the second animal that had
made its way into the stun box, sometime during
the slaughter of the animal before it, was lying
unconscious. The second animal was only partially
in the stun box. The back end of the second

animal was still in the alleyway before the stun
box. The establishment had applied a stun to the
animal from a handheld captive bolt device. |
applied US rejected tag number B31963211 to the
roll box at approximately 0715 hours.

Disposition of Beef Carcass for the second animal
partially trapped in roll box by! (b)(6)

HH Incident at Roll Box 11.10.2019 While
performing the disposition process of carcass 007,
the viscera and pluck were without any notable
gross lesions, The carcass sides reveal moderate
bruising over the shoulders and lumbar region of
the carcass with some blood set in the
musculature of these areas. With the evaluation

of the spinal vertebrae there were notable signs of
injury to the cervical and thoracic spine. The
lumbar spinal vertebrae had visible fractures at L2
and L4. The tongue had no gross lesions. The skull
had multiple fractures of the vomeronasal bone;

he

24


Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

41

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

purpose of conducting an inspection or
performing any other inspection program duty.
The numbered official badge of an inspection
program employee is sufficient identification to
entitle him or her to admittance to all parts of
such an establishment and its premises.” Again,
the establishment management is reminded that
per Directive 5930.1 revision 4, custom exempt
operations are subject to the FMIA and HMSA.
This continues a trend in custom exempt humane
handling issues.

90

M44779

Spencer County Butcher Block

VMV28080
70726G

26JUL2019

04c02

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

Faulkner Meats (M44779) Taylorsville, KY
engaged in USDA inspected slaughter this day. At
approximately 1330 hrs. EDT the Supervisory
Veterinary Medical Officer (SVMO) brought to the
attention of the Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI)
the conditions observed in the swine holding pen
in the barn. The floor of the holding pen was
covered in liquid feces and all swine were covered
in manure. The establishment considers all
animals in the holding pens to be custom exempt
until declared for federal inspection. Again, per
USDA-FSIS Directive 5930.1 revision 4 the FMIA
and HMSA applies to custom exempt animals.
This continues a trend in humane handling
observations related to custom exempt animals at
the establishment.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MOI! Agenda

61

Establishment had 2 Functioning captive bolts as
well as a third .22 rifle backup stun weapon near
the stun area during stunning operation.
Establishment pre-op and operational logs as well
as their robust systematic approach paperwork
have sections that indicate Primary, Secondary,
and backup stun are present and in good working
order in the room. Establishment affirms on their
data log sheets that the said stun equipment is
present in the room. Issue/Action Plan: Verify
that the establishment, if necessary, upon need
for a third stun to render an animal insensible,
utilizes the .22 rifle for said third stun attempt.
Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: Based on
visual observation, the establishment did not need
to utilize the .22 rifle for a third stun attempt on
10/10/2019. Although the .22 rifle backup stun
weapon was in slaughter room near the stun area
loaded with safety on in gun case. Issue/Action
Plan: Verify that the stun operators are trained
and have successfully passed the establishment's
test, prior to the stun operator being allowed to
resume the actions of stunning. Regulations: 9
CFR § 313,15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon my review of establishment Stunning
training logs, Establishment stun

operator & owner Matthew Lawrence successfully
completed and passed all necessary retraining and
testing of stunning effectiveness on 9/18/2019,
The training was witnessed and signed by

(b)(6) No

additional training has been performed or
recorded Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment has verifiable procedures for stun
weapon cleaning, maintenance, and charge
selection and usage. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv), 9



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 27

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
35 M320M+V | Smithfield Fresh Meats Corp. VWK48080 O6JUN2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | A meeting was held to discuss the ante mortem
320 61806G Humane procedures at establishment 320M, Smithfield
Handling Foods, on May 23, 2018 at 12:30 pm. The

following people were in attendance: Smithfield
Tim Messman, Plant General Manager | (b)(6)

[ (by(6) | Cini T
(b\(6)
(by(6) | Fsis
(by(6y I (bN6) |
6 J (6y6) TT (b\(6) ]

(b\(6) Through collaboration and

discussion, the following guidance document was
produced: ANTE MORTEM INSPECTION
PROCEDURES for 320M MILAN, MISSOURI
05/23/2019 All ante-mortem inspections.
procedures will be conducted in accordance with
FSIS Directive 6100.1 Rev 2, “Ante-Mortem
Livestock Inspection.” Pre-shift antemortem
inspector will begin donning at 0530 hours. A
plant employee will accompany the inspector on
antemortem inspection to ensure all animals can
be observed at rest and 10 % in motion.
Antemortem inspection may be performed in
pens 1-12 A, 1-12 B, 13, 14 B, 1-12 C, 1-12 D, Hall
B, and Hall C. Inspectors should perform
antemortem in designated pens only, not
‘alleyways’ or ‘walkways’. Inspectors are not to
enter areas with animals in them, or traffic
through areas where animals are being driven.
The establishment should provide safe access to
all pens needing inspection so that 100% of
animals can be observed at rest and 10% in
motion. This is in accordance with FSIS Directive
6100.1 Rev. 2 Section V. Any animals placed into
the Recovery Pen are intended for veterinary
disposition only and cannot be inspected and
passed by any other FSIS personnel. Once
animals are presented for inspection they are no
longer eligible for resale. Any animals intended to
be “resales” should be segregated prior to



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 94

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
animal for USDA inspection; and having adequate
facilities to manage the types of animals they
intend to harvest.
15 M6173 Masami Foods, Inc. CC251808 | O5AUG2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On08/05/2019 at 1045 hours, while observing
4705G Humane truck unloading of 7 cattle from a livestock trailer,

Handling observed one <30 month-old steer slipped onto
both knees as it was leaving the trailer. The
animal was able to quickly stand and walk to the
holding pen with no apparent injury or lameness.
None of these cattle were coaxed to get out of the
trailer and they moved at a normal walking pace
without being driven by an establishment
employee. The lower edge of the stock trailer

threshold distance to ground is over 12 inches. |
verbally informed| (b)(6)

{a} __] of the incident and he was also
advised that a copy of this MOI has been sent to
Denver District Office and to the District
Veterinary Medical. Specialist] (16) _|was
also informed that there is a potential for
livestock injury which may result in a
noncompliance record citing 9 CFR 313.1.1
advised the establishment to make the necessary
corrective actions to mitigate potential for slips
and falls when unloading cattle from similar stock
trailers.



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

48

15

M44911+P
44911+V44
911

Kinikin Processing

PNQ05140
54106G

O6MAY2019

04co2

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

Memorandum of Interview Humane Handling
Establishment #44911 Date: 5/6/2019 Time:
approximately 0810 on 5/6/2019, while stepping
off the slaughter floor for the stunning of a large
sow, if eye) | heard one shot and a squeal

from the sow. | opened the door and the sow was
still standing but it was not vocalizing} (b)(6)

(b)\(6) left the slaughter floor and
proceeded to the office to retrieve a larger round
of ammunition. ee and readied
the 357-caliber round in the firearm, giving me a
warning of fire-in-the hole_| immediately stepped
off the kill floor and. ONY Lepted a second
stunning attempt which effectivel dered the
animal insensible. | talked bout
what had happened. He stated that he had started
to knock the sow with a 22 Mag rifle but had
decided it may not be large enough so decided to
go with a 38-caliber bullet for a more effective
stun, but after firing the 38-caliber round it was
evident that the 38-caliber round was insufficient,
so he obtained the 357-caliber round. One large
hole was observed in the skull of the sow.

Knocking box was tagged with US Rejected B
11002921.

25

M45321

Upper lowa Beef LLC

BYF391311
4706G

O6NOV2019

04c02

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

On November 6th, 2019 approximately at 1315
hours | went to the outdoor holding pen to
perform a humane handling task on truck
unloading. | observed 40 fat cattle depart from
the trailer, approximately 80% of the cattle
slipped 8-15 feet from the trailer on what
appeared to be a buildup of frozen manure on the
concrete pad between the dock and the building
entrance door. Three to four head of cattle fell,
getting up without appearing to have any injuries.
| informed (b)(6) ne (ce)
Maintenance of the finding at 1330 hours. This is
the last load of cattle to arrive at the
establishment for today's slaughter.



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 89

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

opinion of the inspector, is excessive, is
prohibited.” And 9 CFR 313.15 “The driving of
the animals to the stunning area shall be done
with a minimum of excitement and discomfort to
the animals. Delivery of calm animals to the
stunning areas is essential since accurate
placement of stunning equipment is difficult on
nervous or injured animals.”



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

stunning. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(b)(1){iv), 9
CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
Vill (8) Findings: Training was completed on
9/18/2019. No additional training has been
performed or recorded. Issue/Action Plan: Verify
that the establishment has verifiable procedures
for stun weapon cleaning, maintenance, and
charge selection and usage. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9 CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv), 9
CFR § 313,15(b)(1)(ii), 9 CFR § 313.16(b) (1)(ii)
PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings:
Based upon record review of establishments
weapon maintenance log, establishment has.
documented that they have cleaned Captive Bolt
#1 & 2 as well as .22 Caliber rifle on Saturday,
November 2 @ 9, 2019. Issue/Action Plan: Verify
that the establishment has provided and posted
stunning “landmark charts” and that such are
clearly posted in slaughter room and near stun
area. Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9

CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9 CFR§ 313.15(b)(1)(iv), 9

CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(iv) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
VIII (8) Findings: Establishment placed two (2)
landmark charts in the slaughter room on
9/18/2019. The Charts are clearly posted and
visible from any spot in the room. No additional
information has been added. Inspection program
personnel will continue to perform the PHIS
Inspection Task to verify the adequacy and
effectiveness of the establishment’s Humane
Slaughter program including all procedures
specified therein



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 90

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
25 M562 JBS Green Bay, Inc. QSM57060 26APR2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized At approximately 11:05am on April Sth, 2019,
421266 Humane (\(6}and|__(6\(6) _Jentered the push gate area
Handling of the chute and heard cattle vocalizing inside the

chute. As they entered the chute, they observed
an establishment employee using the hand-held
electric prod on steers. The first steer was already
vocalizing and the employee was observed to
continue to prod the steer 2 times. The animal
moved forward about foot and then the employee
immediately started prodding the second animal
3-4 times rapidly without giving it a chance to
move forward after the first prod. This animal
also vocalized and kicked then moved forward
about afoot. The prod was used at the tail head
both steers. As soon as the employee saw[i)(]
approaching, he stopped prodding and
walked the prod up to its normal place near the
entrance to the restrainer. The production line
had not been started, there were no holes in the
line and the animals had minimal space to move
forward in the chute. The establishment is
reminded that per 9 CFR 313.2 “Driving of
livestock from the unloading ramps to the holding
pens and from the holding pens to the stunning
area shall be done with a minimum of excitement
and discomfort to the animals” and “Electric
prods, canvas slappers or other implements
employed to drive animals shall be used as little
as possible in order to minimize excitement and
injury. Any use of such implements which, in the
opinion of the inspector, is excessive, is
prohibited.” And 9 CFR 313.15 “The driving of
the animals to the stunning area shall be done
with a minimum of excitement and discomfort to
the animals. Delivery of calm animals to the
stunning areas is essential since accurate
placement of stunning equipment is difficult on
nervous or injured animals.”



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
25 M850+P17 | Swift Pork Company HEM26231 28DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Around 16:15 on 12/28/19 | was watching prod
775+V850 21528G Humane use when | noticed a hog was going through the
Handling irons to stunner 2 backwards. The employee used

the tip of the electric prod to push up the angled
stopper that prevents the hogs from going away
from the stunner in the irons. While he was doing
this and focusing on getting the backward facing
hog to try exit the irons, a hog moving in the
correct direction approached and came very close
to the hot portion on the electric prod. | could
not tell if the prod made contact with the hog’s
forehead, or if the hog was spook by some
movement of the prod; but the hog quickly

reacted by taking a few quick steps backwards.
Af inutes later | saw} (b)(6)
and | explained to him what I saw, |

also mentioned that I’ve seen this on occasion on
both shifts and have mentioned it to a couple
different supervisors, so | was going to write a
MOI. | explained that even though the employee
had no obvious intent to use the prod in the face
of a hog, if the prod had done so it still would

have been considered an egregious act.| (b)(G)

said he would talk with all the employees and
at wit

on Monday to retraining people and try to

find a way to prevent this from happening again.
On 1/7/20 around 8:30am | talked about this with

(b\(6) __}as this was the first day we were both
working at the same time since the incident. He
said that they are working with the maintenance
department to find a way to make it so the they
can add something to extend the back part of the
restraint so that they employees could lift the
restraint without having to put the prod or
anything else inside the irons near the hogs. The
individual employee was alos instructed right
after the incident and they were also going to add
this issue to the January team meeting so that
they could go over it with all the employees.

125


Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
15 M86R Cargill Meat Solutions EHN33081 O5DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On Wednesday December 4, 2019 at
21005G Humane approximately 1448 | was called out to the cattle
Handling unloading dock by M 86R, Cargill Meat Solutions

management to observe the following situation:
A2 deck semi cattle trailer had backed into the
unloading dock and when the gate was lifted on
the trailer, it was found that the upper deck door
had come open; thereby resulting in 2 cattle
falling from the top deck onto the cattle in the
rear jail. One heifer was dead and 4 were
nonambulatory disabled. | observed 4
nonambulatory disabled heifers effectively
stunned and pithed before being removed from
the trailer. The driver has been suspended by M
86R, Cargill Meat Solutions pending an
investigation.

128


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 35

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
0s M400 Los Banos Abattoir 2G291805 1OMAY2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Finalized | Food Safety and Inspection Service Albany
2010G Humane District 800 Buchanan St. Albany, CA 94710
Handling Phone: (510) 769-5712 Fax: (510) 337-5081
To: (b)(6) Pers
(b)(6) Location: HACCP

Office Date: May 10,2019 Subject: Humane
Handling MO! On Thursday, May 9, 2019 at
approximately 10:05,] (b)(6) informed
[_()(6) _ about 2 heads that were stunned
multiple times. She informed} (b)(6) _|of her
hearing 2 stuns while on the kill floor and other
plant employees crowding around near the dry
landing area. observe the first head
had one stun between both eyes (normal
location) and one stun at the nuchal crest. The
second head had two stuns between both eyes
(normal location) and 2 stuns at the left side of

suggested to
supervisor, to have the stunner wait until the
cows calm down before applying the stun.
Therefore, the first stun can be efficient. Since
(b)(6) _ |was not aware of any evidence of
egregious behavior, a noncompliance was not
observed. However, these scenarios raise a
concern due to the frequency of cows having

multiple stuns present in the skull) (b)(6) will

continue to observe this issue to verify regulations

are met. Respectfulh
(b)(6) [Alameda District,

OFO, FSIS, USDA Plant management response:
The two cows were beef cows and were excited at

the knock bo) (b)(6)
(b)(6)_ | informed the stunner to wait until
cows

ave calmed down before stunning. M400
management will have a discussion with the
stunner on how to efficiently stun a beef, steer or
any excited cows in the knock box.



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

25

M1962+P1
962

Perry Way Foods, LLC

LINO51211
0726G

26NOV2019

04co2

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

On 11/26/2019 at 10am | met wit! (bys)
fo discuss a summary of a humane
ial lent that occurred on 11/18/2019.

On wens at approximately 10am a truck
driver informed barn employees that the upper
deck of the trailer had collapsed. The trailer was
full of sows, with sows on both upper and lower
decks of the trailer. With help of maintenance
personnel, barn employees, and the truck driver,
the living sows were removed humanely. There
were 2 dead sows: one was clear of the collapsed
deck, the other was trapped underneath the
collapsed deck. | performed antemortem
inspection on the surviving sows as they exited
the trailer. | did not find any significant injuries
and no lameness was observed. The trailer was
driven away from the facility where an
investigation would be performed to identify the
underlying cause. Based on the identified cause,
corrective actions would be provided. On
11/25/2019, Lynch Livestock provided a
document showing the underlying cause and
corrective actions taken. The underlying cause
was determined to be “safety stops” that were
not put back in place after the trailer was
washed. This resulted in the suspension cables
supporting the upper deck to fail, causing the
collapse. Corrective actions included repairs to
the trailer being completed, ensuring the trucker
improves his pre-trip inspection process, and to
have the trucker complete TQA recertification. In
addition, this situation was reviewed with all
drivers who were reminded of the importance of
pre-trip inspection.

50

M20856+V
20856

Eureka Locker, Inc.

GGG26070
13416G

16JAN2020

04c02

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

This morning between 0600 and 0700 |
conducted an Odd-Hour-Inspection for Humane
Handling. All findings were acceptable. A copy of
the report is attached to this MOI.

un


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

15 M454+P49 | Owyhee Meat Company HKD22060 18SEP2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Animal Handling Incident at Establishment M454:
88+V454 90218G Humane Date: 09/11/2019 Phone: (509)- 876-6051

Handling The following are the events that transpired on
the specific dates and times documented down
below and that are documented in my words to
the best of my ability. On 09/11/2019, at
approximately 1513 hours, while returning back
into the kill floor, L(y) heard an animal
vocalizing loudly outside the knock box; |
immediately proceeded to the door that leads
outside the kill floor by the knock box. As!
opened the door to investigate why the animal
was vocalizing loudly, | observed the employee
repeatedly jabbing the animal in the chute in the
area between the flank and the rib area trying to
force it to proceed forward. The animal reared its
head back as he jabbed it with the hot shot. | told
the employee to stop doing that and that he was
only allowed to use the hot shot once and not as
es as he had done. Shortly after this, |
coming out to the kill floor and
proceeded outside, so | left the area to continue
inspection in the kill floor. This concludes this
chain of events. ——-----—---~ —- At approximately
3:15pm on September 11,2019[ (b)(6)__|
[foxeifwhie entering the slaughter floor at Est.
454, heard a cow repeatedly vocalizing. She
immediately went to the chute leading to the
stunning area and observed (b)(6)
| (b)(6) repeatedly prodding a black
beef cow that was balking at the entrance to the
stunning area. The black beef cow continued to
vocalize excessively (b)(6) |nstructed|(b)(6)
(by(6 jto immediately stop prodding the cow. As |
proceeded from the slaughter floor the cattle
chute area | clearly heard the repeated
vocalizations unti[_(b)(6) intervened in the

situation. | spoke with] (b)\(6) ho oversees

the driving cattle from the pens to the stunning

area. He indicated tome that} (b)(6) |was not



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task

MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MOI Agenda

program that contains a stunning SOP describing
corrective actions to be taken in the event of an
animal beginning to return to consciousness. The
SOP states| (by)

(b)(4)

(b)(4) The harvest floor
supervisor informed USDA that blood pit
employees are trained on signs of consciousness
and on corrective actions in the event of a
mis-stun or return to consciousness and that this
training is documented by the establishment. At
the meeting, management presented its
corrective actions verbally for the failure to follow
the SOP for return to consciousness, to include
replacing the electrical stunner that had been
used in the morning, replacing the employee who
had made the initial stick with a more
experienced individual, moving the location of the
hand stunner to be more convenient for blood pit
employees, and training the employee who
removes ear tags on use of the stun gun to include
supervision from a more experienced employee
until the ear tag employee is comfortable on their
own. USDA verified follow-through of these
corrective actions.
establishment that the robust humane handling
program may need to be re-evaluated to ensure
that the program is being followed as written to
prevent a noncompliance or egregious humane
handling issues in the future.

10


4a

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 | M44779 Spencer County Butcher Block VMV26081 27NOV2019 | 04CO02 | Livestock Finalized | On Tuesday, November 26, 2019 Spencer County
11627G Humane Butcher Block (M44779) Taylorsville, KY engaged
Handling in federally inspected slaughter activities. The

Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer (SVMO)
made the following observations in the holding
pens while performing the livestock humane
handling activities tracking system (HATS) task at
1530 hrs. EST: - | The swine pen was found to
have approximately 75% of the floor covered in
roughly one inch of liquid feces; the cut-off
bottoms of plastic drums were likewise coated in
feces and contained a small volume of some type
of black liquid (feces?); the bedding covering the
remaining 25% of the floor was wet. -
Multiple sheep pens were found with roughly 2-3
inches of packed manure and no visibly clean
bedding. The animals in question had not been
declared for federally inspected slaughter. The
establishment considers all animals in the holding
pens to be custom exempt until declared for
federal inspection. However, the establishment is
once again reminded that the Federal Meat
Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Humane Methods
of Slaughter Act (HMSA) applies to custom
exempt animals per USDA FSIS Directive 5930.1
revision 4, Similar recent custom exempt MOl!s
were issued July 9, 2019, July 26, 2019, and
September 20, 2019.
(D)(6)| was made aware of these observations and
| the forthcoming documentation.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 124

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

for a supervisor. After about 1 minute of
watching the employee use only the electric prod,
including on hogs with multiple others directly in
front of it so it had nowhere to go, | asked another
employee to take that person’s spot until a
supervisor arrived. was again the one
who showed up, | again told him what | saw and
when; he said he would talk to this individual as
well about proper prod use, | a OO
my concern is that after talking with the
individuals, is there a supervisor that is able to
monitor for improvement or is it up to USDA, as
he|_(b)(6) ) oversees the final rail area and is

usually found around there, (by(6)
[1X6 sed to be in the center alley in livestock
but has been moved to the heads area on the
harvest floor; and (b)(6) who |
believe is still in charge of the stick area, the only
time I’ve seen him in that area a good amount of
time was the previous day (12/26) out of the last

i "ve been on second shift. | did
ut in the area by the stunners
several times throughout the rest of the night.
On 1/7/20 around 8:30am | talked about this with
(b)(6) is this was the first day we were both

working at the same time since the incident. He
said the employee was talked to after the
incident.|__ (b)(6)___| also informed me that he
talked with (bY) |

(b)(6) Jof the importance of keeping a supervisor
in the stick area and that even if they are short
staffed, the supervisor should not be used to fill a
line spot for extended times so that he can
properly monitor the stick area.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 23

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

animals that were already stunned and
exsanguinated and the cows held in the restrainer.
The restrainer was tagged up with reject tag
B41501115 at approximately 10:12 AM. After
further discussion, it was determined that the cow
did not regain consciousness, and | removed my
reject tag. Afterwards, | looked at the
unconscious cow’s head to look at the position of
the stun holes. | was able to find 3 stun holes but
not the fourth stun hole (the cow still has her hide
on, so | was only able to palpate the holes and not
visibly see the stun holes). The 3 stun holes were
located halfway between the poll of the head and
the eyes, in addition to being at an equal distance
from one side of the head to the other.

as | Mm27440 Valley Beef, Inc. VEJ591404 | 25APR2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At1050 on April 15,2019] (b\() performed
3425G Humane ante-mortem on a small lot of cattle from the
Handling overhead catwalk at M27440. A Holstein cow,
backtag #4741, that had been previously reviewed
earlier in the day, was the only cow waiting in the
raceway leading to the stun box, There was fresh
blood on the floor and along the one solid wall of
the raceway, as well as on the cow’s tail,
hindlimbs, and udder. The cow’s tail was
fractured with exposed bone.
performed the ante-mortem assessment on the
lot this cow arrived in at 0840 on April 25, 2019.
es not recall this cow with an injury
to its tail nor that this cow was bleeding. The
cause of the injury could not be determined, and
the animal was slaughtered and processed per
normal procedures. The operator must ensure
facilities are maintained in good repair and are
free of objects which may cause injury or pain to
the animals. Handling of livestock, from receipt
through slaughter, must be done with a minimum
of excitement and discomfort.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
25 M2460+P2 | Cimpl's, Inc. PMBO03121 100CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On October 9, 2019 at approximately 1650, (og
460 002106 Humane L__ (6) was performing HATS
Handling Category VIII — Stunning Effectiveness.

observations at the restrainer. A mature Black
Angus cow was moved into the restrainer. When
it approached the head catch, the cow managed
to get a leg through the head catch. The restrainer
operator noticed that the leg was in the catch and
attempted to back the cow back through the
catch. The cow then proceeded to jump and get
its other leg through the head catch. The cow at
this point was very agitated and was vocalizing.
The cow struggled its way through the head catch
and into the Halal pit. This is a drop of
approximately four feet. The cow then began
running into the door of the Halal pit until it
opened and then entered the shackle pit. The
metal screen door to the shackle pit was closed so
the cow could not exit. The cow then went behind
the shackle station guard where it became stuck
between two posts. Establishment employees
were able to open the door and get the cow to
back up fram the shackle guard. The cow found its
way back to the barn where it was placed with
another lot of cattle. The cow did not appear to
be injured but was very agitated. This incident did
not appear to be due to equipment failure or
employee negligence. The cow was already
worked up prior to entering the restrainer. The
restrainer operator did not have the head catch
open any more than they usually do. The
establishment employees also attempted to do
everything they could to quickly and safely get
the cow back to the barn.

18


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

80 M19290+P | Working H Meats, LLC NAW30091 100CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Today, October 10, 2019, at approximately 0840
19290+V19 03310G Humane hours, | verbally notified Mrs. Terrie Hardesty,
290 Handling establishment owner/manager, of my decision to

suspend slaughter at Establishment 19290. |

advised Mrs. Hardesty that | would be contacting
District Office about my decision. At
approximately 0836 hours, an Angus cross steer
was loaded into the kill chute and the head gate.
The animal laid down and would not get up or lift
its head to be locked into the head restraint
mechanism recently installed. Mr, Grant Hardesty
fired the .22 magnum and the steer appeared to
be unconscious. Mr. Hardesty checked the eye
reflex twice with no response and stated that the
tongue was hanging out. Mr. Hardesty then
replaced the gun on the wall. The steer was
released from the chute, struggled on the floor,
and then began trying to get up. Mr. Hardesty
then retrieved the .308 rifle but was not able to
get a good shot with the .308 rifle immediately.

At 0838 hours, Mr. Justin Hardesty stuck the steer
to get it to bleed out. A few seconds later, Mr.
Grant Hardesty was able to get a shot with the
.308 rifle, and the steer was rendered
unconscious. After being ji
incident on the kill floor by
instructed him to place a US retain tag on the kill
chute. US Retain tag B40457349 was placed on
the kill chute at approximately 0840 hours, and |
notified Mrs. Hardesty that federal slaughter was
suspended and that | would be contacting Mr.
Wood and the Raleigh District Office.
Establishment 19290 is currently under a
suspension in abeyance for an egregious stunning
incident on September 5, 2019. | am
recommending reinstatement of the suspension
for the following reasons: (1) The establishment
did not follow their previous corrective actions
since the steer was not fully restrained, (2) the

7


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
50 M85B Swift Pork Company GYM04031 270CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Open On October 25, 2019 at approximately 17:57,
00327G Humane while performing antemortem examination in the
Handling livestock barn | was observing truck unloading at

the unloading docks. As | was observing at the
third unloading dock, | noted a group of hogs was
reluctant to leave the trailer and were pushing
together facing into the trailer and away from the
unloading ramp. The trucker was attempting to
turn the hogs and one of the hogs placed its
forefeet on the back of another hog and rode up
on the hog. As | observed, the trucker reached
out with the paddle and struck this riding hog
several times in the face with the paddle. | then
proceeded to the unloading gate and informed
Pedro the dock monitor of what | had seen. He

proceeded into the truck and began unloa
hogs himself. | then informed (by(6)

he

of my observations and that

| would create an MO! to document these
observations.

114


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 73

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI! Agenda
15 M46407 Open Range Beef, LLC LPN291411 13NOV2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On Wednesday November 13, 2019 at
4613G Humane approximately 0910 hours L oe |

Handling observed a non-ambulatory disabled (NAD) bovine
present on a livestock trailer on the top deck
inside the trailer. Establishment animal handling
personnel applied 2 electric prod attempts to
encourage the cow to stand up on the trailer.
Following the first electric prod attempt the cow
fell over on her left side. With the second electric
prod attempt the cow stood up. When the cow
stood up it was obvious that the cow couldn’t put
weight on her left forelimb and wouldn’t even toe
touch with it. The cow struggled to take a few
steps and then went down again on the ramp
inside the trailer. An animal handling employee
radioe (b)(6) to
bring his equipment to stun a NAD cow[(b)(]
came out and checked the cow without
bringing any equipment with him. | teh
(b)(6) that the cow needs to be stunned and is
isplaying signs of pain.[_(b)(6)_ left to go
inside to get his equipment. It took| (6)(6)_an
extended amount of time to come outside with
the hand-held captive bolt (HHCB) stunning device
and his knife to bleed the cow. In the meantime,
while waiting for the cow was crawling
on her fetlocks down the ramp, trying to move
forward and vocalizing. The cow attempted to get
up a few times but fell back down and banged her
head on the trailer floor. The cow was eventually
stunned and rendered unconscious with the HHCB
device on the first stunning attempt. A second
security stun was applied with a backup HHCB
device, and the animal was then stuck and bled
out. Spoke to the)
about the inci that happened on the trailer
with the NAD. said that the regular
employee who handles all of their HHCBs left at 6
am this morning, therefore the devices were not
cleaned or logged this morning for the day. That is



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

28

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

inspection, in accordance with FSIS Directive
6100.1 Rev 2 Section XI. Once animals have
passed ante mortem inspection and the pen card
has been signed, the establishment is responsible
for maintaining identity in accordance with FSIS
Directive 6100.1 Rev. 2 Sections VI and VII. Either
a tattoo (lot) number or a pen number may be
used to maintain identity. If previously inspected
and passed animals need to be moved to a new
pen and they do not have a tattoo, the
establishment has two options. a.The animals
may be presented for reinspection in the new
pen. b.The establishment may notify the offline
inspector and present the already signed pen card
with both the old pen number and the new pen
number to be initialed by the inspector prior to
moving the animals from the pen. These
procedures and guidance are intended for normal
operations with a focus on a safe and orderly
process. They may be subject to modification on
an as-needed basis due to extenuating
circumstances, such as severe weather or humane
handling concerns.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
25 M21898+V | Farmers Union Industries, LLC OXG40170 19JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 1330 on July 19, 2019, | was
21898 72119G Humane conducting ante-mortem inspection at
Handling establishment 21898 Farmer's Union Industries in

Estherville, lowa. While conducting this inspection
| noticed approximately 50% of the pigs across the
entire old barn (the barn with the pit underneath)
were panting. Some of the pens at the ends of the
barn exhibited nearly 90% of the pigs panting. In
the new barn (the part without the pit underneath
it) none of the pigs were panting. | noticed a
major airflow difference and comfort level for
myself between the twa barns. In the new barn
there are fans over every pen and six misters
spraying water in each pen. In the old barn there
are three fans on each of two of the walls and two
misters per pen. One mister on each end. The
temperature outside during this observation was
91 degrees Fahrenheit with a “feels like”
temperature of 17 desrees The temnerature in
the old barn wa) {P4) and it wal?)()h the
new barn. At approximately 1530 | asked the
Livestock Supervisor if he was doing anything to
make the pigs more comfortable. He replied that
his crew was spraying the hogs down with water
between unloading trucks. He was also decreasing
pen density for any of the pigs that were going to
be in the barn over the weekend.

4


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 33

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

05 M354 Cargill Meat Solution RNK13131 13DEC2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On Monday 11/25/19, during a routine HATS
22413G Humane inspection of the feedlot pens on the west side of

Handling the premises, (b)(6) land (b)(6)
(bway|became concerned that some of the
animals had not been recently fed. In-Plant
Personnel (IPP) observed that the feed bunks in
Feedlot Pens 7 and 8 looked significantly emptier
than the surrounding bunks and that the animals
quickly attempted to consume hay pushed
towards them. IPP reviewed the Establishment’s
feeding logs and discovered multiple
discrepancies that made it hard to verify when the
animals on premises had been fed. _ First, the log
for Saturday 11/23/19 was incomplete for all
pens on premises. IPP noted “11/23” was filled
out on the top of the log, but the rest was empty.
it this up tq (by)
she populated the log to reflect
the feeding completed on 11/23/19 for all pens
on premises. She noted this change by writing
“filled out 11-25-19." Second, the log for Sunday
11/24/19 was not completed for the feedlot pens,
despite animals being housed in these pens since

feedlot pens were checked at approximately 0600
hours on 11/24/19, but there was no annotation
of this check on the log. At this 0600 hours
feedlot check it was reported that these pens did
not requir iti cause they alread

had feed. (b)(6) lalso reported
in 11/29/19 that, although it was not
documented, the feedlot pens were all fed
between 1200 hours and 1500 hours when it was
documented on the log that the usual yards pens
were fed. Third, the feeding logs for Sunday
11/24/19 and Monday 11/25/19 show an interval
between feedings that is greater than 24 hours.
The last feeding time on 11/24/19 is documented



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
90 M7356+P7 | Harmon Brothers Meats, Inc. | 1/K3010055 29MAY2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized Harmon Bros. Meats (M7356) Warsaw, KY has
356+V7356 729G Humane been on suspension of federally inspected
Handling slaughter since October 2018. While verifying

conditions at the establishment, the SVMO.
observed a holding pen in the barn containing
custom exempt goats and lambs. At
approximately 1100 hrs. EDT the following was
noted: - The floor was covered in fecal
material, most of which was soupy in consistency;
puddling of liquid fecal in multiple areas of the
pen was present. No indication of bedding being
inthepen. - The whole corn present in the
feed troughs was covered in fecal material. -
Water available was brown. The above
observations were brought to the attention of
establishment owner Mr. Dave Harmon, who
likewise was informed of the forthcoming
documentation. The establishment is once again
reminded that per FSIS USDA Directive 5930.1
revision 4, the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA)
and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act
(HMSA) applies to custom exempt livestock. This
continues a recent trend in humane handling
issues related to custom exempt animals.

102


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 95

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

15 M6423+P6 | Walt's Wholesale Meats, Inc. | MFO04191 260CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On 6/26/19, at approximately 4:10pm, ial
423+V6423 05426G Humane notified establishment

Handling management of an issue with their suspect
handling procedures. At approximately 3:00pm,
while performing antemortem inspection, |
suspected a red dairy-type cow who appeared to
have an injection site lesion on the left neck. She
was otherwise bright, alert, and responsive,
ambulating normally, and appeared relatively
healthy besides a mild amount of purulent
discharge from both nostrils (suggestive of
pneumonia). | instructed the outside cattle
handler Baz to suspect this animal and handed
him suspect tag M-2310161 to apply to the
animal, and because this establishment has a
good previous history of applying suspect tags to
the correct animals, | did not remain to verify that
the tag was put on. At approximately 3:50pm,
while | was giving USDA breaks to our line
inspectors, the suspected animal reached the
USDA FI viscera inspection station. | was surprised
to see the carcass was in quite bad condition, with
evidence of septicemia in multiple areas of the
carcass, including pneumonia, petechiated
kidneys, and adhesions in the peritoneum.

[ G6) lenquired
if | wanted to condemn the carcass there at the
viscera table and take KIS test samples, and |
agreed, moving on to perform disposition on
additional carcasses. After finishing multiple
other dispositions, | proceeded to the head
inspection table to condemn this and multiple
other heads. The hide was left on the head of the
suspected carcass, and it was then that I noticed
that the hair on the suspected head, which had
the aforementioned suspect tag attached, was
black, and not the red of the cow that | had
instructed the tag be put on. This was when |
collected an ear sample and the suspect tag and
approached Plant Manager Rafael Gomez and



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
25 M244L+V2_ | Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. TWH59120 19SEP2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | on9-18-19 at approximately 12:20PM | (b)(4)
44. 91719G Humane (b spoke to procurement (by)
Handling ii labout a humane handling problem |

had observed. | was performing humane
handling verification activities and watching
trucks unload. | observed a driver in dock 4 using
only an electric prod to move animals off of the
truck. The truck driver had an electric prod in one
hand and a metal sort board in the other hand but
was using the prod to touch almost every hog to
move them off the truck. | did not observe the
sort board being used. | watched him unload
approximately 30 hogs this way. After 2-3
minutes the establishment’s dock monitor
approached the truck driver and spoke to him.
The truck driver then switched to a different tool
to move hogs (a paddle or other tool covered with
aplastic bag). Federal regulations state that
driving of livestock shall be done with a minimum
of excitement and discomfort. The
establishment's written humane handling
program states that the electric prod shall be used
as little as possible. Prod use has been discussed
multiple times at weekly meetings in this
establishment as problematic (meeting dates
5-9-19, 7-18-19, 7-25-19, and 8-1-19) showing a
trend of overuse of the electric prod to move
livestock. Establishment 244L has a robust
written humane handling program at this time. If
FSIS continues to observe that establishment
employees are not following the humane handling
program as written the program may no longer be
considered robust.

15



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
90 M7356+P7 | Harmon Brothers Meats, Inc. | /K5208043 26APR2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized Harmon Bros. Meats (M7356) Warsaw, KY has
356+V7356 526G Humane been on suspension of Federally Inspected
Handling slaughter activity since October 2018. While

performing a routine visit to the establishment,
the SVMO observed at approximately 1030 hrs.
EDT the following: - A holding pen with goats
and lambs was found to have a dead goat and
water of questionable drinking quality; the water
was brown with fecal material present. Another
dead goat was observed outside of the rendering
storage room. - An adjacent holding pen with
goats and lambs was densely populated, most of
the floor covered with liquid feces and no
indication of having bedding added to it, and
water of even more questionable drinking
quality—browner than the other. How long the
animals had been in the pen was unknown to the
SVMO, but all animals had hair coats/wool coated
in dried manure. The establishment is reminded
the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the
Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) applies
to custom exempt operations. The establishment
has a history of similar observations.

101


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
90 M7356+P7 | Harmon Brothers Meats, Ine. | K3312073 19JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized Harmon Bros. Meats (M7356) Warsaw, KY, while
356+V7356 619G Humane on suspension of federally inspected slaughter
Handling resulting from a humane handling incident

occurring July 18, 2019, engaged in the slaughter
of custom exempt animals this day. The
Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer (SVMO)
made the following observations at approximately
1150 hrs. EDT while observing activity on the kill
floor at the request off (6.

(b)(6)___ for the establishment: Three mature
sheep were placed in the knock box by plant
personnel; plant personnel raised the side of the
knock box and without the benefit of restraint
attempted to stun one of the sheep with the
captive bolt device; in this attempted effort, the
three sheep escaped from the knock box onto the
kill floor and began to scamper about; plant
personnel were able to apprehend one sheep as it
attempted to exit the kill floor down the walk-way
adjacent to the chute that leads to the knock box;
plant personnel (2) restrained the sheep and the
captive bolt device was fired after placing it on the
skull of the animal; following the firing of the
device, the sheep attempted to continue to exit
the kill floor, remained upright, though going
down ona knee(s) while still being somewhat
restrained by plant personnel (conscious righting
reflex, conscious eye tracking); a second shot from
the captive bolt device did render the sheep
ible. An examination of skull, a4()(6
thought the device misfired/jammed,
revealed two holes in the skin of the skull; one
hole in the skin on the top of head was such that
it suggested the bolt struck the skull at an angle
and did not penetrate the bone; the second hole
in the skin was more rostral and coincided with a
hole in the bone and penetration into the brain
cavity[(b)(@) was advised this mis-stun and
failure to render the sheep insensible with the first
stunning attempt would be documented in a MOI.

106


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI! Agenda
25 M850+P17 | Swift Pork Company HEM54211 180CT2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On Wednesday October 16th, while watching
775+V850 03818G Humane electric prod usage by stunner number 11 noticed
Handling the some rusty jagged ends for the stand that

holds a barrel fan for the employees. Upon closer
examination | noticed some potential sharp
edges. This fan is in an area that occasionally has.
hogs that get kicked out of the irons or from the

swing gate area for stunner 1 that get stressed or
balk. | pointed out to} (b)(6)

(by(6) ‘that the jagged ends are sticking
out and though not likely, could be a potential
issue if one of the kicked out hogs decide to walk
by or lay down by the fan. She immediately
removed the fan from the area. On Friday
October rat (6) _ let me know that 1st
shift must have moved the fan back, but she
would remove it again. Around 17:00 | showed
the concern ——
as well and talked to him about the concern, so
that he could make sure the concern was relayed
to 1st shift. also let him, and later in the night

that | realize that this has likely

been in this condition for a while and the chances
of it being an issue are slim, but | was going to
document this in a MOI to make sure that
everyone is on the same page as one shift has
removed the fan but the other shift put it back.

122


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
90 M46070+P | Marble City Meats LLC KLEOS0801 03JAN2020 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Handling of Livestock Summary: The following
46070 4603G Humane contains the Verification Plan for Marble City
Handling Meats, LLC. Establishment #M46070, Sylacauga,

AL, The establishment did not conduct any
inspected red meat slaughter operations during
this two-week period. Last Slaughter verification
was conducted on 10/10/2019. Establishment
Owner has decided to voluntarily suspend
inspected livestock slaughter operations. He also
stated that he does intend on returning under
inspection after he has did a complete overhaul of
his entire slaughtering system; Moving from
Captive Bolt to Electric Stun. He anticipates that
will be Spring 2020. Attached is the letter in
which he delivered to inspection personnel.
Inspection Personnel recommends that his letter
be accepted and his voluntary suspension be
granted. Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the

establishment utilizes an sop { (by(4y

(by(4), Regulations:
9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9
CFR § 313,15(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(3) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: No Red
Meat slaughter inspected operations performed
during the verified time period. !ssue/Action
Plan: Verify that the establishment maintains two
(2) functioning hand held captive bolts (HHCB),
and a third .22 rifle backup stun weapon, near the
stun area, and during stunning operations.
Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9
CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR §,
313.16(a)(3) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8)
Findings: Based upon visual observationand
record review, Establishment had 2 Functioning
captive bolts as well as a third .22 rifle backup
stun weapon near the stun area. Issue/Action
Plan: Verify that the establishment, if necessary,
upon need for a third stun to render an animal
insensible, utilizes the .22 rifle for said third stun
attempt, Regulations: 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

69



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 75

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

15 M46433 SeraTec Inc. VGF26150 03JAN2020 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | January 2, 2020 at approximately 1515 hours,
11903G Humane ile performing post mortem inspection,

heard an animal make a noise fro
shackling area. ned around and
was able to obsi
bleeding out calves on the rail
observed that one of the calves was exhi
involuntary mouth movement and assumed this
was the calf which had made the noise. The
establishment employee lifted the head of the calf
and{_ (6)(6)_] observed the pupils dilate. The
establishment employee then removed the head.
(b)(6)  |placed U.S Rejected Tag B40245952
on the pneumatic captive bolt stunning device.
Plant Manager, Mackensey Priest, had entered to
the slaughter pen area and was informed of the
incident. The dressed head was noted to have
two penetrating stun holes. Although!
servations do not support a directly
observed noncompliance, this incident raises
concerns about the humane handling practices of
the establishment. Based on the head evaluation
it is clear that one of the stun attempts was not
located in the correct area. Additionally, if an
animal regains consciousness or exhibits signs of
returning to consciousness, an effective re-stun
needs to occur immediately prior to any cuts to
facilitate bleeding or prior to continuing the
dressing process. The establishment's proffered
corrective actions are to provide additional
training to the establishment employees
immediately and weekly for two weeks. If no
additional issues are noted, the establishment will
return to the usual training schedule of once
monthly. The retraining will include literature
and/or videos on proper knocking position, signs
of consciousness, signs of returning to
consciousness, and how to check for
consciousness versus unconsciousness. The
employees involved in stunning and shackling will

Handling



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 20

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI! Agenda
25 M2460+P2 | Cimpl's, Inc. PMB47200 14JAN2020 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | On the evening o anuary 14, 2020, |
460 13014G Humane conducted an odd:
Handling inspection of the barn and live animal handling

facilities. During this inspection | discovered the
following potential issues: 1, The gate separating
pen 23 to the feed storage area had sharp points
on both bottom corners. 2. The northwest
support beam in pen 22 had an outward facing
sharp point. 3. The northwest support beam in
pen 21 had an outward facing sharp point. 4. The
tin wall paneling on the south side of the drive
alley from pen 18 had multiple sharp points and
loose corners. These areas were shown to

(b)6) fon
the morning of January 15. He said he would get
them taken care of today.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 M7356+P7 | Harmon Brothers Meats, Ine. | WK2413072 11JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized Upon arrival at 0700 hrs. EDT the Supervisory
356+V7356 711G Humane Veterinary Medical Officer (SVMO) observed at
Handling Harmon Bros. Meats (M7356) Warsaw, KY, a

trailer backed-up to the animal unloading dock of
the facility. The SVMO inquired of establishment
owner Mr. Dave Harmon, if sheep would be
slaughtered under USDA inspection this day; Mr.
Harmon stated the establishment would begin
with the two beef held over from a previous day
being held in the holding pens. At approximately
0830 hrs. EDT, plant personnel informed the
SVMO they were ready to unload the trailer. The
SVMO brought to the attention of (b)(6)

(b)(6) the fact that the
sheep and goats observed on the trailer had been
on the official premises for at least 90 minutes
and that they had no access to water; in
conversation with the transporter, he stated he
arrived at the establishment between 0630-0645
hrs. EDT after a roughly 3-hour drive from the
Columbus Ohio area. The transporter unloaded
the trailer in the presence of the SVMO, Humane
Handling Coordinator (HHC), the HACCP
Coordinator, and the Office Manager for Harmon
Bros. Meats. The SVMO observed two obviously
lame sheep come off the trailer and be placed in
the general population. After the trailer was
unloaded by the transporter, the SVMO observed
a mature sheep laying lateral recumbent and
paddling (moribund) next to a side wall of the
trailer. This observation was brought to the
attention ofthd 6) —___]
Shortly thereafter, the transporter acknowledged
to the SVMO the sheep was down and proceeded
to get into his truck and drive away from the
unloading dock with the live moribund animal still
on the trailer{_(i)(6) _|stopped the
transporter and told him to return to the
unloading dock with his truck and trailer. The
sheep was euthanized by the HHC. The proffered

103


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 25

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda

temporal and occipital bones had multiple
fractures, with the right ramus of the mandible
being fractured as well. My assessment after
observing the carcass with multiple fractures of
skull bones and blood set within the musculature
of the head is that the animal succumbed to the
traumatic injuries prior to the administration of
the single stun with the handheld captive bolt
(He) deve) |
confirmed with IPP that the animal was
unresponsive prior to the stun application with
the HHCB device by plant employees. The
evidence suggests that the animal died from the
traumatic injuries and not the HHCB stun. “After
investigating the incident, plant management
proffered the following measures to improve on
the roll-box performance and prevent recurrence:
° A meeting was held with all employees
from the circle pen to the roll box. *
Maintenance placed a new handle on the live
scale gate to prevent the gate from opening while
roll box isin use. © There will be two
employees will be stationed at the ramp area.

° Employees were instructed not to operate
at the live scale if there are any mechanical issues
observed. * Yellow paint was added to the
top of the air gate so that the operator knows
when the air gate is properly closed and not
blocked. Maintenance and QA will check
gate and outside areas ona daily basis to ensure
that there are no animal handling issues and all
mechanical equipment is properly working”.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
25 M45629+V | Andy's Meats Inc. DJp291211 15NOV2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Finalized | On November 8, 2019 while observing HAT
45629 2915G Humane category VII observation for slips and falls at
Handling about 8AM, || (b)(6) along wit

(by) |, made the following observations
and discussed the findings with plant manager
Andv Zubek. reaver bdo

(b)(6) | Slaughter was underway and we
UDSETVEU ant establishment employee sorting pigs
and guiding them to the chute. He was using a
louder than ideal voice when moving the pigs and
instead of using his BB filled paddle to simply
make noise to move the pigs he was using it to
tap on the pigs regularly and once appeared to
tap on a pig’s head when it started to climb on
other pigs. | discussed the situation with Mr.
Zubek who spoke with the employee in question.
We observed the same employee a few minutes
later quietly guiding the pigs to the chute with
little contact from the paddle. The barn was
much quieter and he was using the paddle to
guide pigs in a wide arc to the chute. The pigs
were much more calm and moved easier with the
gentler treatment. We also noticed that the
design of the backup chute currently in use while
the regular stunning equipment is awaiting repairs
is not ideal. The pigs are guided behind a heavy
metal gate which is difficult for the employee to
open and close and then to enter the chute from
the crowd pen, pigs must make a sudden 90
degree left turn. At this point we observed many
pigs slip from the slippery conditions on the floor.
We discussed the possibility of more frequent
cleaning or other means to improve footing at this
location. We also noticed during our second
round of observations that about 25% of the pigs
needed to be prodded with a battery powered
prod to get onto the belt while very few had
needed it during our first round of observations.
The establishment does not have a written animal
welfare program but



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 99

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
40 M7162 Preferred Beef Group OFF201708 03AUG2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 1055 on August 2, 2019,
5803G Humane land | observed a plant employee place a

Handling e calf (approximately less than a week old) into
a metal crate so that the calf could be moved to
another location. Once the cage door was closed,
the calf jumped over the side of the crate onto the
ground. Although the calf was not injured, the
potential for injury existed. | immediately
informed the livestock receiving (b)(6) |
bout the incident that | witnessed. |
informed him that this metal crate needed
attention to keep an animal from being able to
escape and possibly get injured.
told him this in Spanish so that there would not
be any misunderstanding that the crate needed
immediate attention. He stated that he would
have it taken care of. The metal crate is
approximately 4 ft long, 2 ft wide and 4 ft tall. The
front gate has a wire panel that spans the entire
gate. The sides and back of the crate only came
up about 18 inches, thus having an opening of
2% feet. Atapproximately 1250 on August 3,
ind | went to verify that the
en properly fixed to prevent
any animal from escaping or injuring themselves. |
immediately noticed that nothing had been done
to the crate. The plant had also not placed any
identifying device on the crate stating that this
crate was not to be used until it was repaired. |
placed US Reject Ta: 5009546 to the crate. |
thenscthed OX]
about my concerns and showed him the
deficiencies with the metal crate. He immediately
had maintenance repair the metal crate. At 1443,
[_(y6) _Jasked me to look at the crate to see
if the repairs to the crate were satisfactory. |
determined that they were and released
regulatory control. USDAs concerns are that the
establishment is utilizing equipment that has the
potential for serious injury to an animal. When



Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

37

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

Task
MOINbr Date Code | TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

and its head was still lying on the ground, the
shackle loosened, and the swine fell to the
ground. The swine did not regain consciousness.
The animal was re-shackled, re-hoisted and
effectively stuck for bleeding. The animal
remained unconscious. | notified Mr. Miller of the
ineffectual shackling. Mr. Miller directly
supervised the next two market swine’s. They
were effectively stunned on the first stunning
attempt with the electrical stunning device to the
head. The animals were shackled, hoisted and
stuck for bleeding without sliding out of the
shackle or regaining consciousness. The Denver
District Office was contacted via supervisory
channels and the incident was determined to be
egregious. USDA Reject tag B37157201 was
applied to the stunning box.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 21

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda
25 M253 Long Prairie Packing Company, LLC AGL371209 27SEP2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Finalized | At approximately 1430 on Wednesday,

2627G Humane September 25, 2019, |, (Bek
Handling conducting a Livestock Humane Handling Task.

While conducting this task | was observing cows
enter the restrainer. One of the cows stopped at
the restrainer. The establishment employees tried
to drive the cow forward in the restrainer. While
this was occurring the door to the restrainer
closed on the cow next in line. This caused the
cow to go down. It did not appear to injure the
cow, but the cow could not rise again and had to
be euthanized. It appeared that her foot got
caught underneath her which caused her to be
unable to get up. The establishment employees
stated that the door went down on its own. |
informed (b)(6)

(b\(6) fat unless he put in place something to
ensure the door did not close on another cow |
would be placing a U.S. Reject tag on the
restrainer. He found a large metal bar and placed
it underneath the door so it could not close. He
also stated that he would have maintenance look
at the door at the end of the shift. | told him these
measures were adequate to continue running the
restrainer. On Thursday, September 26, 2019,
during the weekly USDA Meeting | asked for an
update on the door. The establishment responded
that they replaced the handle that operated the
door and that they thought the actuator inside
the handle was faulty. They also stated that they
would be adding the handle to their regular
maintenance schedule to prevent this from
occurring again.



65

Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 M46070+P | Marble City Meats LLC KLES51411 19NOV2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized Handling of Livestock Summary: The following
46070 5719G Humane contains the Verification Plan for Marble City
Handling Meats, LLC. Establishment #M46070, Sylacauga,

AL. The establishment did not conduct any
inspected red meat slaughter operations during
this two-week period. Last verification was
conducted on 10/10/2019. It is unknown when
establishment will start back slaughter operations.
| recommend continuing the abeyance until the
plant can show continued compliance
Issue/Action Plan: Verify that the establishment
utilizes an SOP to not accept hogs with an
“atypical head formation’. Regulations: 9

CFR § 313,15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(3) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: No
inspected slaughter operations performed during
the verified time period. Issue/Action Plan: Verify
that the establishment maintains two (2)
functioning hand held captive bolts (HHCB), and a
third .22 rifle backup stun weapon, near the stun
area, and during stunning operations. Regulations:
9 CFR § 313.15(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9

CFR § 313.15(a)(3), 9 CFR §, 313.16(a)(3) PHIS
Task: HATS CATEGORY VIII (8) Findings: Based
upon visual observation and record review,
Establishment had 2 Functioning captive bolts as
well as a third .22 rifle backup stun weapon near
the stun area. |ssue/Action Plan: Verify that the
establishment, if necessary, upon need for a third
stun to render an animal insensible, utilizes the
.22 rifle for said third stun attempt. Regulations: 9
CFR § 313.16(a)(1), 9 CFR § 313.16(a)(3), 9

CFR § 313.16(b)(1)(ii) PHIS Task: HATS CATEGORY
VIII (8) Findings: No inspected Slaughter
operations performed during the verified time
period. |ssue/Action Plan: Verify that the stun
operators are trained and have successfully
passed the establishment's test, prior to the stun
operator being allowed to resume the actions of



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MOI! Agenda

45

M969G

Swift Beef Company

NDH48180
92506G

O6SEP2019

04co2

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

15

M981

Northern Beef Products, Inc.

SND43151
14414G

14NOV2019

04co2

Livestock
Humane
Handling

Finalized

On September 4th, 2019, around 193:
(ine Was observing stunning effectiveness
(HATS category VIII). He observed a beef move its
head and blink after receiving a stun from a
hand-held captive bold stunning device. The
establishment employee immediately
administered a security stun. It was unclear if the
animal was still fully sensible after the initial stun.
Upon examination of the head post skinning,
there were two knock holes in the skull: one hole
was on the target and one hole was an inch below
the target and to the left. On September 5th,
015,[ (66) J.and| met with
plant manager, Zach Ireland, and discussed
concerns with stunning accuracy and the
potential for animals to remain sensible if
employees are not accurate. Mr. Ireland
acknowledged the concerns and will follow up
with additional training for all employees
responsible for the stunning of animals,

On Friday November 1, 2019, at approximately
0945 hours, while performing Ante-Mortem
Inspection, iT oxo | observed an employee
misusing a cattle paddle on an animal (Beef Cow)
by paddling the animal with excessive force. This
is in violation of humane handling 9CFR 313.2 (a)
(b) A warning was given to Assistant Plant
Manager Gerardo (Lalo) Morales byl (x) ]

due to the company taking a preventive measure
by immediately terminating the employee.

134


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI! Agenda
25 M850+P17 | Swift Pork Company HEM49050 01AUG2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | | talked with Livestock
775+V850 83301G Humane around 4:30am on July 31, 2019 about
Handling my concerns from 2 weeks ago about the misters.

Itold him that! had} = (b)(6) | bring my
concerns up and that something got lost in that
because the establishments response was just
that the misters are on a timer. | explained
(b)(6) that ’ve been here 8 years, I’m well aware
that the misters are on a timer in the summer and
it is set so that they are hardly off. My concern
with the misters during the hot weather was that
the valves were shut off. | explained that on July
18th, during one of the rounds of ante mortem in
the middle of second shift | found 5 pens that had
the overhead misters off. These pens all had hogs
that were very stressed out, to the point that |
refused to sign for the pen; one of these pens had
been filled for 90 minutes. There is no reason for
there to be hogs stressed to the heat that long.
Also, during that same round | found 4 dead hogs
in the pens | was inspecting. Normally | find a
dead hog during ante mortem once every 4-8
weeks. With how hot it was during the week of
July 15th | can’t say the hogs died from the heat;
but it raises concerns when considering the
stressed out hogs in pens with the misters off
combined with the amount of hogs that died
within just a couple hours after arriving. I've seen
some misters off this week, but it is cooler this
week and the hogs appear comfortable so there is
no issue. More attention needs to taken when
there are stretches of real hot weather. Also, | did
odd hour inspection Wednesday night (July 17th)
and saw that the misters in pen 38 had barely any
water coming out. When | checked the valve, the
valve didn’t even have a handle to tr
joned this to}
(yt The hogs were resting
comfortably at that time, but with the hot

118


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI! Agenda
25 M850+P17 | Swift Pork Company HEM52000 12SEP2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Around 21:15 on 9/10/19 while doing HAT
775+V850 94512G Humane V Ante Mortem Inspection
Handling was given a pen card to pen 8 that

said that there were 106 hogs in the pen. The
company's target head count in this pen is 105,
although more hogs can be placed in it without
overcrowding. When | got to the pen, | observed
that at the near end of the pen the hogs were
sitting so tightly that not only was there no space
between them, some were on top of a few others.
laying down. At the far end of the pen there
didn’t appear to be much space either. There
were some squealing noises coming from one of
the hogs that had others on top of it, and since
the pen next to it was empty; | entered that pen
to try and help move the hogs to get them off the
others. As | tried to do this | observed that there
was extremely little to no space for the hogs to
move around freely. | asked the stun tech
operator who was with me to open the pen to
count the hogs; we counted 159 hogs in the pen.
There was a dead hog in the area that the anxious
sounds were coming from, it was removed from
the area. | immediately had the stun tech

‘or radio fo} (b)(6),
. He came out a little after 21:20 and he

also got 159 when counting the pen and adding
the removed dead hog. | notified him that | was
going to be issuing a noncompliance for over
crowding the pen. The back gate to the pen was
left open to allow more space to the hogs while
still providing water while the company figured
out what happened. They split these hogs into 2
pens which were inspected and signed for the
next time | went out to the barn. At 16:20 on

9/11/19 while doing HAT category IV Ante
Mortem Inspection, (b)(6)
(b)(6) came to explain what occurred the

previous day. He said a ghost pen was added to
pen 8; where the scale operator called for 19 head

120


Table: MO!Is in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 8

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

animal returned to consciousness, and (3) an
establishment employee stuck the animal prior to
it being rendered unconscious.



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18,2020 97

Dist Task

rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MO! Agenda

80 M6590 Randolph Packing Co., Inc. YBB591304 26APR2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | Date/Time: 04/26/2019 at approximately
44266 Humane 11:45am Location: USDA office of M-6590

Handling Attendees/ (BY) Lome |
6) ey 1

(b)(6)

{ ()(6)_] The purpose of this memorandum of
Interview (MOI) is to document a discussion with
Randolph Packing Co. establishment management
on April 26,2019. At approximately 11:35am
this morning, | was performing a humane
handling verification task in the knock box area. |
looked out the window to observe the cattle
driver. One cow was driven into the area
immediately before the knock box. Another cow
also attempted to also enter this area. The
employee used the gate to try to prevent this
without excessive force, but the second cow’s
head entered this area. | saw the employee use an
electrical prod on the right cheek of this animal.
From the placement of the employee’s hand on
the equipment, it did not appear that he placed
his finger on the activation button. | did not
observe any reaction from the animal that would
indicate the animal was driven with excessive
excitement or discomfort. However, | discussed
with management that this may not be the best
practice to get into the habit of. | reiterated that
use of an activated electrical prod on the sensitive
regions of the animal, including the face, genital
or anal area, or driving animals with excessive
excitement or discomfort would constitute
regulatory noncompliance.
that he would discuss the matter with the
employee. The information provided in this
MOI includes all the topics discussed during the
meeting.



Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 | M44779 Spencer County Butcher Block VMV11060 20SEP2019 | O4CO2 | Livestock Finalized | Faulkner Meats (M44779) Taylorsville, KY
92220G Humane engaged in federally inspected slaughter this day.
Handling The establishment considers all animals being

held in the holding pens as being custom exempt
animals until so declared for federal inspection.
The Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer
(SVMO) made the following observations while
performing the livestock Humane Handling
Animal Tracking System (HATS) task at the
establishment: 1. At approximately 1200 hrs.
EDT: a. Apenof lambs was observed with
flooring covered in fecal material roughly 2 inches
in depth, some areas wet, and no visible
dry bedding. b. Apenofsheep and goats
was observed with flooring covered in fecal
material roughly 2 inches in depth, some
areas wet, and no visible dry bedding. c. <A
pen of lambs was found to have one dead lamb
present; a second lamb was found hanging by a

horn entangled in the wire panel
fencing attached to the gate-—the lamb was lying
lateral recumbent with its front end

slightly elevated from the floor (hanging from the
gate/wire panel.) 2. At approximately 1230
hrs, EDT: a. While observing slaughter floor
activity of the federally inspected animals a beef
was found in the knock box.

i. The beef was observed
with its hindquarters facing the head gate of the
knock box and an establishment employee was
observed striking the beef in the head/face with
the broom portion of a push broom to have the
animal turn around. The SVMO inquired of
available plant personnel if the animal was
declared for federal inspection or custom exempt
slaughter—plant personnel did not know.

ii. The
same individual above was observed kicking the

beef in the hindquarters to have the animal turn
sound

42



Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
15 M889A+V8 | J.F. O'Neill Packing Co. Inc. DSC261507 O2JUL2019 | 04C02 | Livestock Finalized | HATS Category VIII Stunning Effectiveness At
89 5802G Humane approximately 1005 hours, while verifying
Handling stunning operations at establishment 889A

O'Neill Packing, | observed the fallowing
inhumane noncompliance. The establishment
stun operator was attempting to stun a slightly
fractious bovine. He tried to move the animal
forward into the head catch of the stun box, but
when the animal refused to move and turned its
head towards the stun operator, he applied the
hand-held captive bolt (HHCB) device to the head
and fired. The HHCB device became lodged in the
head and briefly removed from the stun operators
control as the animal fell down and backwards.
As the stun operator retrieved the HHCB device
the animal emitted a short vocalization. The
animal regained it’s footing and began trying to
escape the knock box. The stun operator vacated
the slaughter floor. In order to ascertain what
contact had been made with the animal, | moved
towards the front of the stun box where | could
clearly see the head. | saw the hole as well as
blood smeared right nostril. | asked for three

supervisors| (bY) |e
(b)6) Jand{— (b6)

(byY(6) 0 observe the event{(n)(6)]
(b)(6) as the first to arrive and | pointed out

the hole in the animals skull. [~ (h)(6)_frrived
next who | also pointed out the hole in the
animals skull.. The stun operator returned with
two HHCB devices. The stun operator spoke to
(b)(6) _ pbout something that | could not

hear (b)(6)_Jarrived next. The animal was still
in the stun box completely ambulatory and
sensible. The stun operator moved the animal
into the head catch of the stun box. The stun
operator applied a second stunning attempt, but
there was no noise from the HHCB nor reaction
from the animal. The HHCB device was reloaded
and a third stun attempt was applied which

129


Table: MOlIs in Response to FOIA2020-111

14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Dist
rict

EstNbr

EstName

MOINbr

Date

Task
Code

TaskName

Status

MO! Agenda

corrective actions resulting from a humane
handling incident occurring in October 2018
states “Harmon Brothers Meats Inc. understands
that animals are under the purview of our
company at the point that the transportation
vehicle turns onto the physical driveway and
passes through the entrance gates to the
property.” Title 9 CFR 313.2(e) states in part that
“animals shall have access to water in all holding
pens”. In conversation with Mr. Harmon, he
communicated the awareness of the trailer being
on the official premises and elected to begin the
day by slaughtering the beef already present in
the holding pens prior to unloading the trailer in a
timely manner, ultimately leaving the animals on
the trailer without access to water for
approximately 2 hours in the “trailer” holding
pen. Posted establishment policy at the livestock
unloading dock states transporters are not
allowed to assist in the unloading process. This
statement was brought to the attention o'
The proffered corrective actions states
“The HHC will visibly inspect all livestock on
trailers prior to unloading, rather they be destined
for Federal, or Custom Slaughter.” It continues by
stating “The HHC will be looking for visible signs
of injury” and that “Any injuries seen will be
evaluated as to severity and best course of action
will be determined to minimize animal suffering.”
The paragraph concludes “If the animal's injury is
deemed of high severity the animal will be
euthanized promptly following subsequent “down
animal” procedures.” The SVMO did not observe
the HHC visibly inspect the livestock on the trailer,
Plant personnel did not identify the
non-ambulatory animal on the trailer. Neither was
it observed or communicated by the transporter
to plant personnel the presence of a
non-ambulatory animal on the trailer. Likewise,
the non-ambulatory animal was not euthanized in

104


Table: MOls in Response to FOIA2020-111 14:34 Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Dist Task
rict EstNbr EstName MOINbr Date Code | TaskName Status MOI Agenda
90 | M44779 Spencer County Butcher Block VMV35171 11DEC2019 | 04CO02 | Livestock Finalized | Spencer County Butcher Block (M44779)
24111G Humane Taylorsville, KY engaged in federally inspected
Handling slaughter activity on December 11, 2019. The

(b)(6)

(b)6) made the
following observations at 1030 hrs. EST while
performing the livestock Humane Handling
Activities Tracking System (HATS) task: - A
pen of 5 beef calves was found without access to
water; no visible means of watering the animals
was observed. - Abovea pen of beef
calves a foam insulation panel was hanging
precariously. - Apencontaining sheep and
goats too numerous to count (TNTC); these
animals held overnight had questionable room to
liedown. - A pen of sheep and goats was
found to have one dead goat. - A pen holding
swine was found to have approximately 50% of
the flooring covered in 1-2 inches of soupy
manure; approximately 25% covered in wet
bedding; and approximately 25% in borderline
acceptable bedding. The bottoms of plastic drums
being used as feed troughs contained some type
of “slop” as a food source. Two swine were
observed ambulatory disabled amongst the
normal population; one possibly having a hip
injury, the other a swollen rear distal extremity
with an open wound and walking three-legged
lame for the most part. While the animals
involved with the above observations are
considered custom exempt by the establishment
until presented for federally inspected slaughter,
the establishment is once again reminded that the
Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the
Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HIMSA) applies
‘to custom exempt animals per USDA-FSIS
Directive 5930.1 revision 4. MOI
#VMV50121116261 dated November 26, 2019
was the most recent documentation concerning
custom exempt livestock. The above

4s