The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suspended the slaughterhouse at the University of Nevada, Reno.
In a letter sent to the University's meat plant, operating as Wolf Pack Meats, the USDA says the slaughterhouse did not handle or slaughter animals humanely.
"The evidence demonstrates failure to comply with the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 603), the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), and the regulatory requirements (9 CFR Part 313)," said the letter in part.
On March 21st a Food Safety and Inspection Service inspector witnessed an employee of the slaughterhouse firing a bolt stunner into the head of a ram five times before the ram was knocked out, with the ram still standing up and looking around between firings.
"This is an egregious act of inhumane handling of animals in connection with slaughter, as your establishment failed to effectively stun a ram so that it was immediately unconscious on the first stun attempt," read the letter in part.
Following the incident with the ram the inspector told the employees present and the plant manager to stop the slaughter line and not stun any additional animals.
They also applied a U.S. Rejected tag to the small animal stunning area of the plant.
In their letter, the USDA says they met with plant management on multiple occasions to discuss humane handling procedures including discussions on the malfunction of handheld bolt stunners.
Those meetings happened in October and December of 2023 and in January and February of this year.
Despite those meetings, the USDA found that Wolf Pack Meats did not implement effective procedures to prevent the inhumane handling of animals.
Wolf Pack Meats has been asked to provide a written response to the USDA, wherein they are asked to explain why the incident that led to their suspension happened and what measures they plan to implement to correct it.
University of Nevada, Reno statement:Â
The University of Nevada, Reno takes animal welfare seriously, and we sincerely apologize for the incident which occurred on March 21. Handling of animals at University facilities is done using humane practices, and we will continue to collaborate regularly with federal partners to improve processes to ensure this standard is met.
You can read the complete letter to the University of Nevada, Reno Meat Plant below.
