Pork Co

USDA Notice of Intended Enforcement May 2025 - please do better! On 05/06/2025 at approximately 1430 hours, the SPHV observed the following Humane Handling (HH) noncompliance: A male market class hog had emerged from the V- restrainer following an electrical stun and initially appeared unconscious and therefore a shackle was attached to a hind leg. As the bleed line with the shackled hog advanced and the hog went from a horizontal recumbent position to vertical position, the hog began to move in a conscious manner. The employee assigned to stick and bleed the hog immediately started looking around for an establishment employee to notify, and he did stick the hog to bleed it out. As the hog then progressed to a fully vertical position, the hog raised its head, moved its front legs in a conscious “righting reflex” manner and the SPHV observed it tracking with its eyes and rhythmically breathing. An establishment lead employee was quickly in attendance and followed the establishment’s procedures by firing a captive bolt gun in the hog’s forehead. The SPHV observed the hog react to the captive bolt, but the hog continued to move in a conscious manner, tried to right itself, and when the employee grabbed the hog’s ear to visualize and touch its eye, the hog tried to move its head away and clearly was tracking the movement of the hand approaching its eye. The establishment employee then quickly applied a second captive bolt stun to the hog’s forehead. The hog was rendered unconscious and remained in a state of unconsciousness through the remainder of the slaughter process. The SPHV immediately notified the Plant Manager of the egregious humane handling noncompliance and took regulatory control action by placing U.S. Rejected tag B46553352 to the stunner gate in the barn. Afterward, the head was examined and skinned; two captive bolt holes were present, both had fully penetrated the skull. One stun was placed correctly mid-forehead; the other was just to the right of it. The SPHV had observed both captive bolts closely when they occurred and confirmed that the bolt hole to the right was the first captive bolt stun. This incident represents noncompliance with 9 CFR 313.30(a)(4), which states, “The stunned animal shall remain in a state of surgical anesthesia through shackling, sticking, and bleeding.” The incident is considered egregious because the animal regained consciousness after the initial stun attempt.

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