CRIMES WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES - gpvec

enforCement of federal laW in u.s. Plants
1,000 animals slaughtered that year, or less than an hour per shift per federal
slaughterhouse. 163 The FSIS has implemented a Humane Activities Tracking system to
monitor the amount of time spent by FSIS inspection personnel on overseeing humane
handling and slaughter. However, inadequate monitoring of humane practices is only
one weakness of the current enforcement system. Of equal concern is the lack of action
taken on observed violations.
Failure to take appropriate action
There were many instances where FSIS failure to take proper enforcement action, by
issuance of a Suspension of Inspection, resulted in reoccurrence of the noncompliance
and additional—and unnecessary—animal suffering. Following are some examples:
On November 4, 2002, inspection personnel at plant #19546 observed stillconscious
animals being cut at 0750, 0853, 0948, 1057, 1117, 1127, 1138, 1142,
1333, 1334 and 1355 hours. The inspector citing the noncompliance noted that
previous stunning deficiencies had been noted at the plant on at least four other
occasions. On November 6, 2002, inspectors again observed conscious animals
being butchered at 0745, 0750, 0844, 0847, and 1106 hours. On December 4,
2002, inspectors noted that animals were improperly stunned before bleeding at
0730, 0825, and 1003 hours.
On December 30, 2002, inspection personnel at plant #21799 saw two hogs
struggling and kicking in the scald tank. On December 31, 2002, inspectors again
observed conscious hogs in the scald tank.
On March 17, 2003, inspection personnel at plant #2594 observed a hog who
broke his leg because of a hole in the floor of a weight scale. On March 21, 2003,
inspectors observed another hog with a badly cut leg due to loose boards at the
base of the damaged scale.
On May 10, 2003, inspection personnel at plant #717 observed that some hogs
appeared to be conscious after being stunned. On May 12, 2003, inspectors
observed conscious hogs thrashing in the scalding tank.
On October 3, 2003, inspection personnel at plant #4470 issued an NR to
plant for unloading three disabled animals in a field and not protecting them
from adverse weather conditions and not providing them with water and feed.
On October 23, 2003, a plant was cited for unloading disabled animals in an
inhumane manner.
Inconsistent actions by District Offices
Among the most significant findings of this study is the inconsistency in humane
slaughter enforcement by FSIS district offices. Table 18 shows the number of NRs and
suspensions by district. While the humaneness of animal handling and slaughter may vary
somewhat by district, it is unlikely that this alone can explain the observed differences in
163 Full coverage of humane monitoring at all federal “large” slaughter plants and minimal to moderate coverage
at all small and very small plants would require 400,000 to 500,000 inspector hours per year.
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