FoI A 2014 0024

farmsanctuary

rescue * education » advocacy

National Office + P.O, Box 150+ Watkins Glen, NY 14891 « 607-583-2225
www.farmsanctuary.org

April 17, 2019 ived ij
Received in USDA/FSIS
VIA EMAIL

Freedom of Information Act Officer APR 17 2015
USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service

Room 2168 South Building FOIA Office
1400 Independence Ave., SW

Washington, DC 20250 .

fri: usda.gov

Re: FOIA Request: Humane Methods of Slaughter Act Documents

Dear FOIA Officer:

This letter is a request for public records made on behalf of Farm Sanctuary, pursuant to the
Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq. This request satisfies the
written request requirement pursuant to 7 C.F.R. § 1.5(a).

Farm Sanctuary hereby requests that you please provide the following documents related to
livestock slaughter under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA):

All 04C02 inspection task records including memorandums of interview and
noncompliance records relating to humane handling and slaughter regulations under 9
C.F.R. 313 and the HMSA issued during the time period from October 1, 2017 through
the date the request is processed.

Please provide the records in the format that will ensure the most expedient response (e.g.,
electronically, by hard copy, or on CD-ROM). Please provide the records as soon as they are
available.

If you deny access to any of the requested records or otherwise deny any part of this request,
please provide Farm Sanctuary with all reasonably segregable, non-exempt portions of the
relevant records. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(b). Additionally, please describe the deleted material in
detail, cite the statutory basis for the denial, and explain the basis for your belief that the material
is exempt. Farm Sanctuary further requests that you separately state your reasons for not
invoking your discretionary powers to release the requested documents in the public interest.
Finally, please notify Farm Sanctuary of any appeal procedures available under the law, as well



farmsanctuary

rescue * education » advocacy

National Office «P.O. Box 150+ Watkins Glen, NY 14891 « 607-583-2225
www.farmsanctuary.org

We also request that, consistent with the 1996 amendments to FOIA, and the FOIA Improvement
Act of 2016, FSIS post all inspection task records for non-compliance related to the humane
slaughter of livestock under the HMSA, including Noncompliance Records and Memoranda of
Interview online in the agency’s electronic reading room, for review by FS and other interested
members of the public. These documents have been released by FSIS and requested at least
three times; additionally, because of these documents’ subject matter, these are and will continue
to be the subject of numerous requests for substantially the same records. Accordingly, we
request that FSIS proactively make these documents available in its electronic reading room and
post all such documents that it produces to FOIA requesters online from this point forward.

Fee Waiver

Farm Sanctuary is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1986 to combat the abuses of
factory farming and encourage a new awareness and understanding about farm animals. Today,
Farm Sanctuary is the nation’s largest and most effective farm animal rescue and protection
organization. The information sought in this request will be used to educate the public about the
treatment of farm animals in slaughter facilities. The information the records contain would
contribute significantly to the public understanding of humane and public health issues at major
slaughter facilities as well as the evidence relied upon by the agency in reaching decisions
regarding the treatment of farm animals.

The records covered by this request are not posted publicly or otherwise published, and Farm
Sanctuary has no intention to use the information disclosed under this request for financial gain.
If, however, the waiver is denied and the request will involve more than two search hours or
more than 100 pages of documents, and fees will exceed twenty dollars ($20.00), please notify
Farm Sanctuary immediately by telephone before the request is processed so that Farm
Sanctuary can decide whether to pay the additional fees or to appeal the denial of the request for
waiver.

If you have any questions regarding this request, you may contact me at 347-622-3743 or
evonklemperer@farmsanctuary.org. The records and any related correspondence should be sent
to my attention at the address above.

Sincerely,

Gaal, vq Plager

—Emily von Klemperer ____ — oe a —

General Counsel