USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) halted operations at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Wolf Pack Meats processing facility following an incident related to inhumane treatment.
In a notice of suspension, USDA said it was suspending the facility following a failure to slaughter an animal properly.
The agency said an FSIS member witnessed an employee using a handheld captive bolt on a ram five times before the animal was rendered unconscious. The FSIS member stopped the slaughter line and investigated, finding small horn buds obstructing the ram’s head, allowing for only one entry hole to contact the brain.
“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,” the notice read.
The facility must write to the agency and provide corrective action and preventative measures before the USDA makes a determination of further administrative action. This is the fifth incident in five years for the college’s processing facility.
