GREAT FALLS — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent a notice of slaughter suspension to Big Sky Processing LLC in Moore (west of Lewistown) on Feb. 19, after a consumer safety inspector watched as “a plant employee required five attempts to render a cow insensible. The initial attempt, utilizing a 12-gauge shotgun, was ineffective at rendering the cow unconscious.”
The Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) said in the USDA letter:
At approximately 10:15 AM, I, the CSI, observed from the slaughter room door, which faces west and features a clear glass window providing an unobstructed view of the stun box, as a plant employee required five attempts to render a cow insensible. The initial attempt, utilizing a 12-gauge shotgun, was ineffective at rendering the cow unconscious. The cow remained upright, vocalizing, rhythmically breathing, and thrashing within the stun box. I observed blood on the side of the cow’s head. The employee then entered the side room to retrieve another shotgun shell (i.e., slug) for a second stun attempt, which also proved ineffective, as the cow remained standing and thrashing audibly within the stun box with more blood observed on the cow’s head.
The animal tracked the employee with its gaze while the employee prepared a third stun attempt, struggling to align the same 12-gauge shotgun as the cow repeatedly struck the gate of the stun box. Despite another stun attempt being applied, the cow remained standing, vocalizing and continued breathing rhythmically. The employee retrieved a fourth shotgun shell, chasing the cow's head movement with the shotgun. This fourth attempt also failed to render the cow insensible, although the cow eventually dropped to its knees, still vocalizing and attempting to rise. Ultimately, the fifth stun attempt with the same 12-gauge shotgun succeeded in rendering the cow insensible, at which point its eyes ceased tracking, and both breathing and movement came to a halt.
Click here to read the complete letter (PDF).
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This caused outrage at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which asked the US Attorney to intervene.
Nicole Wines of Big Sky Processing responded to the PETA claim by saying, “This whole article is misinterpreted, inaccurate and inappropriate."
When asked to comment on the USDA letter, Big Sky Processing declined an interview.
The USDA report does raise a question: How do you keep the slaughtering of an animal humane?
Robert Bixler, owner of Butcher Block Custom Meats at 4125 Second Avenue North in Great Falls, said, “The goal is one shot, one kill.”
Bixler says that humane slaughtering goes beyond following regulations.
“We raise these animals for our food. Those animals feel pain, and our goal is to harvest them as painlessly as possible," he noted.
Butcher Block slaughters the animals on site at the farm, and Bixler said that he doesn’t let just anyone do the harvesting because there is a learning curve.
“For me, it would be a long training process. I would have to be confident that the person under my supervision could handle it," Bixler said.
The USDA letter states that Big Sky Processing must stay shut down until they, “...provide adequate written corrective action and preventative measures to demonstrate adherence to regulatory requirements.”
