CRIMES WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES - gpvec

federal humane slaughter laW
The USDA-FSIS has issued several notices and directives related to humane slaughter
and handling during the past 15 years. They address such subjects as ritual slaughter
procedures, assessing stunning effectiveness, and the treatment of non-ambulatory
animals, and appear to have been published in response to reports of animal cruelty at
slaughter. A brief description of these documents is presented in Table 10 below.
Table 10. FSIS Notices and Directives Related to Humane Slaughter
Date Notice/Directive Subject
04/29/92 Directive 6900 Humane Handling of Disabled Livestock:
Gives inspection personnel procedures
for ensuring humane handling of disabled
livestock from the time animals enter premises
until they are slaughtered.
11/02/98 Directive 6900.1 Humane Handling of Disabled Livestock:
This revision informs inspection personnel
of new policy permitting personnel to either
be outside transport vehicles or enter onto
vehicles to conduct ante-mortem inspection
if animals cannot be humanely removed from
vehicles.
10/11/01 Notice 43-01 ISP Procedure Code for Humane Slaughter:
Notifies inspection personnel of ISP Code
04C02 to be used to document slaughter plant
failure to comply with regulatory requirements
for humane slaughter.
10/07/03 Directive 6900.2 Humane Handling and Slaughter of Livestock:
Explains how inspection personnel should
approach verifying humane handling and
slaughter procedures, including slaughter by
religious/ritual methods.
06/15/04 Notice 35-04 Documentation of Humane Handling
Activities: Clarifies what information is to
be recorded in humane-handling activities
tracking (HAT), and what information is to be
included on NRs.
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