CRIMES WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES - gpvec

Crimes Without ConsequenCes
4. Inspection was suspended again on September 5, 2006 for an additional humane
handling/slaughter violation.
Tyson Fresh Meats (Geneseo, Ill.)
1. Plant was issued NRs on December 4, 2002 and December 11, 2002 for similar
incidents where animals were held for an extended period on trucks prior to unloading.
The December 4, 2002 incident is described below:
At about 0450, while driving to the plant I noticed cattle trucks near the Hwy 92 and
railroad track. The line of trucks started from the livestock yards…. The livestock pens
were all occupied by cattle and no pens were empty to unload the cattle from the trucks.
I asked the yard employee, “How long the trucks were sitting in the parking lot to be
unloaded”? He answered, “Since 2100 last night.” It means that these 24 trucks of cattle
were waiting to be unloaded for about 9 hours. It was 15 degrees F temperature outside.
All the cattle in 24 trucks had no access to water for about 9 hours. They didn’t have
enough room on the trucks to sit down to take rest.
2. Plant was issued an NR on April 3, 2003 for failure to provide water to 40 head of
cattle in pens. Plant was also issued an NR on October 28, 2003 for slippery flooring
conditions at the unloading dock, causing about 40 percent of cattle to slip and 25 percent
to fall.
3. Plant was issued NRs on January 28, 2003, May 27, 2003, December 16, 2003 and
December 23, 2003 for similar incidents in which the heads of cattle became stuck
between metal bars and the floor in the holding pens. The penultimate incident is
described below:
I was performing ante-mortem inspection at about 0500, when I noticed one animal’s
head caught between a metal bar and the floor in the pen #9A…. There was frothing from
the mouth of the animal in an area of about 12x8 inches. The animal was struggling to
free its head, but was unsuccessful. [Plant personnel] tried to free the animal’s head by
pushing with their feet, but it failed too. At this point they used a Bobcat machine to bend
the metal bar upward and the animal’s head was freed.
Walt’s Wholesale Meats (Woodland, Wash.)
1. Plant was issued NRs on several occasions during 2002 and 2003, including December
10, 2002, January 22, 2003 and August 28, 2003, for crowding of holding pens and/or
inhumane handling of downed (disabled) animals. The December 10, 2002 incident is
described below:
At approximately 0515, while performing ante-mortem inspection, inspection personnel
observed in the first pen on the left approximately 27 cows crowded in the pen. In this pen
there were also 2 downer cows which were being trampled and stood on. In the first pen
on the right inspection personnel counted approximately 24 cows crowded into the pen.
And in the outside pen on the south end there was approximately 40 cows crowded into
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