April 6, 2020 

Freedom of Information Act Officer

USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service 

Room 2168 South Building 

1400 Independence Ave., SW 

Washington, DC 20250 

FOIA Request: Humane Methods of Slaughter Act Noncompliance Records 

Dear FOIA Officer:

This is a request for public records made on behalf of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), 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). 

We request that you please provide the following documents related to Humane Methods of 

Slaughter: 

1. All Noncompliance Records, Memorandums of Interview, and supporting records for 

noncompliance with humane handling and slaughter regulations under 9 CFR 313 and the 

Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (ISP Code 04C02) issued by FSIS from January 1 to 

March 31, 2020. 

Please provide the records in the format that will ensure the most immediate response—

electronically, hardcopy, or CD-ROM. Additionally, please provide the records as they become 

available.

In the event that you deny access to any of the requested records, please provide me 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, specify the statutory basis for the 

denial, and explain the basis for your belief that the material is exempt. I further request that you 

separately state your reasons for not invoking your discretionary powers to release the requested 

documents in the public interest. Please also notify me of any appeal procedures available under 

the law, as well as the office and address where such an appeal can be sent.

We also request that, consistent with the 1996 amendments to FOIA, and the FOIA Improvement 

Act of 2016, FSIS post all Noncompliance Records, Memorandums of Interview, and supporting 

records for noncompliance with humane handling and slaughter online in the agency’s electronic 

reading room, for review by AWI and other interested members of the public. These documents 

FOIA-2020-00259

Rec'd 4-6-2020
Animal Welfare Institute

FOIA Request

-2- 

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 

AWI is a nonprofit organization promoting the humane treatment of animals, including animals in 

agriculture. The information subject to this request will be used to educate concerned individuals 

about animal welfare in slaughter establishments. The information the records contain would 

contribute significantly to the public understanding of humane and public health issues at major 

U.S. slaughter facilities as well as the evidence relied upon by the agency in reaching decisions 

regarding the treatment of farm animals.

Additionally, the records covered by this request are not publically posted or otherwise published, 

and AWI 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 me 

immediately by telephone before the request is processed so that we 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 or 

@awionline.org. The records and any related correspondence should be sent to my attention 

at the address above.

Sincerely,

Erin Sutherland 

Staff Attorney, Farm Animal Program 

Animal Welfare Institute

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