SUMMARY

The two chicken plants stunned 99% of the birds correctly, rendered 100% insensible and had 0% uncut red birds (Table 1). Stunning and bleeding passed the audit in both chicken plants. The broken wing scores were excellent (0.25%) in one plant and failing (5.4%) in the other plant (table 1). Both plants had the same type of plastic coops with small doors.

Beef

Pork

Comparison of plants experienced with restaurant audits vs. plants with no experience

Recommendations:

Problem Areas That Need to be Corrected

1. Electric Prod Use – Two of the plants had employees who used an electric prod on 90 to 100% of the pigs and cattle. Employees must be trained that the electric prod is not their primary driving tool. The only place that an electrical prod is needed is at the entrance of the restrainer or stunning box. The electric prod should be stored in a handy location and only picked up when needed to move a stubborn animal. A flag, paddle stick or other non electric aid should be the primary driving tool.

2. Internal Auditing – Plants that were audited by a restaurant for at least two years performed better than plants that were not audited. Both plant personnel and meat inspectors should conduct weekly numerical audits of stunning, insensibility and handling. People manage the things that they measure. Each animal is scored on a yes/no basis for each variable. For example: A steer is either stunned correctly with one shot or it is not. It either vocalizes or it remains silent.

   Minimum Acceptable Scores for Cattle

   • 95% shot correctly with one shot
   • Any animal that is missed with the first shot must be immediately restunned
   • 100% insensible on the bleed rail
   • 3% or less vocalizing, 5% for kosher or halal. Score in stun box and in the leadup race. Do not score in the lairage.
   • 25% or less electrically prodded
   • 1% or less falling down
   • 3% or less slipping that either interferes with walking or causes agitation

   Minimum Acceptable Scores for Pigs

   • 99% correct electric stunner placement
   • 1% hot wanded, squeals when electric stunner is applied
   • 100% insensible on the bleed rail
   • 25% or less electrically prodded
   • 1% or less falling
   • 3% or less slipping

   Minimum Acceptable Scores for Chickens

   • 99% stunned correctly
   • 99% bleed machine
   • 100% bled by back up bleeder
   • 0% uncut redbirds – indicator that bird may be scalded alive
   • 1% or less broken wings (per bird)

3. Employee Training – In three plants, employees had not been trained in correct procedures. At one plant an employee attempted to bleed a fully sensible, bellowing beef animal that had been hoisted onto the rail. In two other plants, electric prods were used on 90% to 100% of the animals.

4. Stunning Boars – One plant knocked boars down with the electric stunner prior to placing the stunner on the head. Electricity must never be used to restrain a sensible conscious animal. This plant will need to build a restraining stall for stunning boars.

5. Broken Chicken Wings – One plant had an excellent score of 0.25% broken wings and other had a failing score of 5.4%. To prevent this problem, catchers must receive financial incentives to reduce damage. In the failing plant the catchers were paid based on kilograms of chickens loaded.

6. Hard to Drive Excitable Pigs – Excitable hard to drive pigs make good welfare during handling impossible. Producers must walk through the finishing barns a minimum of 2 to 3 times weekly during the entire finishing period to get pigs accustomed to people. The person should walk through the pens in a different random direction each day and teach the pigs to quietly get up and move around them. Pigs differentiate between a person in their pen and a person in the alley. To be effective, the person must get in with the pigs. Walking the finishing pens in especially important for pigs with excitable nervous genetics.

7. Tailgate Problems - In 3 beef plans, cattle vocalized due to excessive pressure applied by stun box tailgates. This equipment problem needs to be corrected. Tailgates should be equipped with controls that enable the operator to incrementally control pressure applied to the animal.

8. Slick Stun Box Floors – Two plants had slipping and falling problems in the stun box. A metal grating constructed from 2 cm diameter steel bars welded on 30 cm x 30 cm centers will prevent slipping and falling. The bars must be welded flat against the floor.

9. In one beef plant, the lairage pens were overcrowded. If cattle are held overnight they must have room to all lie down at the same time without being on top of each other.

References

Grandin, T. 1997. Good management practices for animal handing and stunning. American Meat Institute, Washington, D.C.

¹ Two producers birds were scored. One producer had 50% foot lesions and the other had 5%. Both producers had the same low level of broken wings.

² Both plants had the same plastic coops with small doors and ran at high speeds of over 2 birds per second. The broken wings in plant 2 were caused by not holding catchers financially accountable for damage. They should receive incentive pay for low wing breakage.

The kosher plant had an excellent rabbi who cut the cattle with a rapid, swift stroke. There are big differences in the skill of rabbis or Muslim slaughtermen. In Canada, all plants doing kosher or halal slaughter are required to use a restraining device that holds the animal in an upright position during slaughter.

The minimum acceptable score for the percentage cattle shot correctly with one shot is 95%.

Three plants had kosher head holders and two plants used them for captive bolt stunning. In two plants 0% vocalization was caused by the head holders. In the third plant only one animal vocalized when it was caught crooked in the head holder. A major problem was excessive pressure applied by pusher tailgates.

For a valid electric prod score the handlers must keep the processing line full.

To make pigs calmer and easier to driver, producers must walk through their finishing pens to get pigs accustomed to people being in their pens. This should be done several times a week for the entire finishing period.

To pass a restaurant audit, a beef or pork plant must receive acceptable scores on stunning, insensibility, electric prod use, vocalization and falling down all measures must pass. For chickens, they must pass on stunning, bleeding, no uncut redbirds and broken wings. All measures must pass.

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