State charges VT slaughterhouse with violating law

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture has charged a North Springfield slaughterhouse with six counts of violating the state's humane slaughter laws and will impose a $1,500 administrative penalty.

The state's actions come in the wake of further violations cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition to having a state license, Vermont Packinghouse is federally licensed because it sells meat across state lines.

The slaughterhouse repeatedly had its operations suspended and reinstated by federal authorities, and repeatedly proposed "corrective actions and preventive measures" to the federal Food Safety and Inspection Services.

Kristin Haas, state veterinarian and director of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture's food safety program, told the Burlington Free Press in early May she was satisfied Vermont Packinghouse was responding appropriately to the USDA violations. The state decided then not to impose financial penalties.

On Thursday, Haas said additional federal violations by Vermont Packinghouse in late May triggered the state's decision to charge the slaughterhouse with violating the state's humane slaughter laws.

"What you're witnessing is the fact that these situations always evolve over time and need to be reassessed," Haas said.

Vermont Packinghouse owner Arion Thiboumery said in an email on Thursday that the notice of violation and a related notice to place conditions on Vermont Packinghouse's state license are regarding "old events and have not been finalized."

Thiboumery said he is meeting with agency officials next week about the notices.

"Vermont Packinghouse remains committed to public transparency and humane handling," Thiboumery wrote.

Thiboumery has 15 days from receiving the notice of violation to appeal the penalty. The notice was sent on June 16.

On its website Vermont Packinghouse says it works with more than 300 local farms.

More:VT slaughterhouse responds to USDA suspensions

The state Agency of Agriculture alleges that Thiboumery and Vermont Packinghouse failed to follow the company's own written humane handling plan and "failed to slaughter livestock by a humane method."

Under Vermont's humane slaughter laws, Vermont Packinghouse could have received a penalty of up to $6,000.

The violations cited by the Agency of Agriculture include allowing pigs to escape the stun box in October 2016 and May 2017 and failing to render them "insensible to pain by a rapid and effective method." Those are the first four counts of the violation.

The fifth and sixth counts are related to crowding 42 pigs into a pen in February 2017 and holding them overnight without enough room to lie down. 

"Vermont Packinghouse has been repeatedly warned of the need to handle livestock humanely," the notice of violation states.The notice cites eight federal violations of humane animal handling between Jan. 20, 2017 and April 21, 2017 involving cattle and pigs.

The Agency of Agriculture acknowledges in its letter that Vermont Packinghouse installed new hydraulic equipment to address the restraint and stunning of cattle on April 22, 2017, but notes the slaughterhouse continued to botch humane handling of cows.

The conclusion reached by the Agency was that either Vermont Packinghouse management is unable to ensure employees follow its own humane livestock handling plan; or that the evaluation of the slaughterhouse's operations that formed the basis of the plan was "insufficient."

The Agency of Agriculture is also proposing to place conditions on Vermont Packinghouse's license to operate, including an independent audit of the slaughterhouse's humane handling program.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com.