KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Republic Foods, a meat processing plant in Lone Jack, Missouri, is working with federal inspectors after being cited twice since May for mistreatment of cattle.
On May 11, 2022, inspectors with the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service notified the facility of a violation of the agency's humane treatment of animals standards.
The letter said an FSIS inspector witnessed a cow slip and fall due to muddy conditions in an alleyway leading to an area where animals are slaughtered.
The cow wasn't able to rise due to the slippery conditions. Eventually it was humanely euthanized after it wasn't able to stand properly.
Footing conditions in the alleyway were improved by workers at the facility, which allowed workers to continue to "drive" cattle to the area where the slaughtering process begins.
Later that same morning, the inspector witnessed another cow laying on its side in wet mud. The inspector notified the facility, but before corrective action was taken, the cow was trampled multiple times by other cattle.
The inspector witnessed the cow in distress which included eyes rolled back in its head, rapid breathing and kicking its legs as it was stepped on.
The cow was eventually euthanized.
On Aug. 11, 2022, the facility received another letter from the USDA.
This time, an inspector witnessed a cow who was lying on its side and kicking its feet in an area designated for dead animals.
A review of video of the area showed the animal was initially stunned at 4:52 p.m. but was still alive in the designated area as of 6:20 p.m.
After initial attempts to reach facility management were unsuccessful, a maintenance technician at the facility was able to complete the euthanization process around 6:50 p.m.
Following both instances, the facility worked with USDA inspectors to create a correction plan to prevent the facility from being required to suspend operations.
To allow time for the correction plan to be implemented, the USDA placed on hold any suspension of operations.
As part of a compliance process, inspectors return to the facility after 30, 60 and 90 days to ensure the correction plan has been implemented.
KSHB 41 reached out to Republic Foods for comment and received the following statement:
Republic Foods is dedicated to ensuring the humane treatment, handling and harvest of animals at all times. Animal Welfare is embedded in the framework of our company culture. We strive to continuously improve our animal welfare efforts through the use of new technologies and the implementation of standards that meet and exceed regulatory requirements and industry guidelines and best practices. The incidents in question were resolved quickly and efficiently to the USDA’s satisfaction.
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