Even with proper humane handling techniques, it can sometimes be difficult to safely handle livestock without causing harm to the animal; especially when dealing with larger livestock such as cattle. The animals can easily become disruptive and cause harm to themselves or the establishment employees. All safety measures must be implemented to control and prevent harm to the animals and animal handlers.
Inhumane Treatment of Animals
Laws and regulations pertaining to humane treatment of animals forbid these actions. Still, animals are occasionally and sometimes purposely treated inhumanely at slaughtering establishments. Inhumane treatment of animals is not only wrong, but it can also affect the quality of the meat in which they produce.
It is common for “rowdy” animals to hurt themselves while unloading or during the time they are staged in pens. The animals are normally scared, and are doing what ever they can to escape. While this is not exactly an inhumane treatment of animals, this act should be avoided as much as possible. Livestock staging pens should be designed to provide a secure and safe area for the animals to be stored. They should also have water at all times, and if the animals are held longer than 24 hours, it is required that they have feed.
Occasionally, animals will arrive at the slaughtering facility for unloading and employees will over-use an electric probe on the animals. This normally causes vocalization from the animal as it cries in fear for the employee to stop. This type of treatment is not allowed.
Egregious Acts on Livestock
An egregious act (purposely harming) on animals before and while they are staged in preparation for slaughter is not only unacceptable, but illegal. USDA Inspectors, when witnessing egregious acts, and without prior notification, will suspend all slaughtering operations within an establishment. In addition to the automatic suspension, if sound corrective actions are not presented and/or executed by the establishment, the suspension will remain in effect - up to such a time that the establishments operating license is withdrawn (Ref. 9 CFR Part 500 Rules of Practice).
Egregious acts include situations such as:
- beating the animals
- over-shocking the animals with an electric probe
- torturing
- proceeding with skinning while an animal is still conscious
- stressing disabled livestock
- Other acts to purposely harm the animal
As mentioned earlier, if any egregious acts are observed, it will lead to a suspension of the establishment’s license and operations will stop (FSIS Rules of Practice, 9 CFR 500.3(b)).
It is a requirement that USDA and State Meat Inspectors are highly trained in the humane treatment of animals. It is their duties to closely monitor all slaughtering establishments to validate humane methods of handling animals are performed, both during staging and slaughtering the animals.
Humanely Treating Livestock
It is much easier to handle animals (even those rowdy animals) if they are handled in a gentle, humane manner. One important factor that can determine how well animals are handled is properly designed pens. Pens should be free of broken and splintered boards, protruding nails, and floors should be designed in a manner that prevents slipping. Large animals can easily become non-ambulatory if they slip on an improperly designed floor.
Slaughtering establishments should also consider implementing a written and followed Systematic Approach to Humane Handling and Slaughter – train all employees in this protocol and humane handling – and implement the protocol. Employees should be well trained in how to treat animals intended for slaughter, and they should follow their training. They should also be monitored by supervision to validate they are following protocol. If an employee is observed mistreating an animal, the employee should be removed from his duties.
Disabled livestock, especially cattle (due to BSE), are not commonly accepted at slaughtering establishments. Those that are, must be closely inspected by a Veterinarian to determine the cause of the disability, and the animal must be treated extremely carefully. On rare occasions, animals can become non-ambulatory while being staged for slaughter. This can occur when animals are crowded in pens, or are moved faster than their normal walking speed. In either case, these animals must receive special handling treatment and are not stressed or harmed in any way.
Basics of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy – Mad Cow Disease
Inspection Personnel’s Duties in Humane Treatment of Animals
In Government Inspected Establishments, the Meat Inspector strictly monitors humane treatment of the animals. The Inspector monitors a number of activities that validate that the slaughtering establishment is handling animals properly and humanely. These monitoring activities are known as Humane-handling Activities Tracking System (HATS).
The humane activities monitored by Inspection Personnel are:
- Adequate measures for inclement weather
- Truck unloading
- Water available (feed if applicable)
- Handling during antemortem
- Handling of suspects/disabled
- Electric Prod/Alternative object use
- Observations of slips and falls
- Stunning effectiveness
- Check for conscious animals on the rail
Final Words on Humane Slaughter
A well designed and operated slaughtering establishment will effectively provide humane slaughter for livestock. When a new slaughtering establishment is in design, methods to safely handle animals should be highly considered. Even though livestock is used for food purposes, they must be treated humanely prior to slaughtering.
References:
USDA, FSIS, Disposition/Food Safety: Humane Handling of Livestock, pg. 3
Humane Society International, Guidelines for Humane Handling, Transport, and Slaughter of Livestock, Compiled by Temple Grandin & Philip G. Chambers, Publication 2001/4, Site Referenced 1/08/2011
How to Define the term Egregious Animal Abuse that is used by the FSIS/USDA for Humane Slaughter Regulatory Enforcement, by Temple Grandin, Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University, Jan. 2009, Site Referenced 1/8/2011
FSIS Notice 21-09 – Humane Handling Activities and Documentation
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