Barbara Masters, the agency's director of slaughter operations, told meat industry executives in February she didn't know if the number of violations was up or down, though she believed most plants were complying with the law. The fact that we haven't heard anything suggests there are no trends. But some inspectors see little evidence the agency is interested in hearing about problems. Under the new inspection system, the USDA stopped tracking the number of violations and dropped all mentions of humane slaughter from its list of rotating tasks for inspectors. The agency says it expects its watchdogs to enforce the law anyway.
Many inspectors still do, though some occasionally wonder if it's worth the trouble.
Yes, the animal will be dead in a few minutes anyway.