Rules on Procedures in the Implementation and Enforcement of Food Animal Welfare Laws in NMIS Licensed to Operate Slaughterhouses and Poultry Dressing Plants

March 17, 2017

NMIS MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 03-2017-006

 

Pursuant to the provisions of Department of Agriculture (DA) Department Circular No. 01 (2014) otherwise known as Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act (RA) No. 9296 as amended by RA 10536, DA Administrative Order (AO) No. 18 (2008), Rules and Regulations on Humane Handling in the Slaughter of Animals for Food, DA AO No. 15 (2006), Prohibiting the Flooding of Food Animals in Animal Facilities and Abattoir, the NMIS hereby adopts and promulgates the following rules and procedures in the implementation and enforcement of food animal welfare laws in slaughterhouses and poultry dressing plants with licensed to operate (LTO).

SECTION I

Scope

This Circular shall apply to all slaughterhouses (SLHs) and poultry dressing plants (PDPs) with LTOs that are engaged in the slaughtering and dressing of food animals for human consumption. It shall cover the following:

1. Procedures from transport to receiving, handling, moving, restraint, stunning, sticking, or slitting and bleeding of food animals;

2. SLH and PDP owners or operators, animal handlers, animal dealers or brokers, viajeros, butchers or consumers that are engaged in transporting, handling and slaughtering of food animals;

3. Meat establishment fabricators, contractors, or suppliers; and

4. Meat inspection personnel (national and local) responsible for supervision and enforcement of animal welfare rules and regulations.

SECTION II

Definition of Terms

As used in this Circular, the following terms, words, and phrases shall be understood to mean as follows:

1. Animal Dealer/Broker refers to any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of buying or selling live food animal(s) on commission, or otherwise negotiating purchases or sales of such animal other than for his own account or as an employee of another person, firm or corporation.

2. Animal Handler refers to any person who understands animal behavior patterns, and competent in handling or moving animals with the least fear, anxiety, injury, pain and distress.

3. Carcass refers to the body of any slaughtered animal after bleeding and dressing [DA DC No. 1 (2014)].

4. Controlling Authority is the official authority charged by the government with the control of meat hygiene and meat inspection as well as the enforcement of animal welfare rules and regulations.

5. Emergency Slaughter is the immediate slaughter due to injury such as but not limited to bone fracture, heat stroke and danger of suffocation to eliminate continued suffering provided the animal is still alive.

6. Flooding means the act of forcibly introducing water or any liquid through the mouth or any other substances excessively into the body of the animal.

7. Food Animal refers to all domestic animals slaughtered for human consumption such as but not limited to cattle, carabaos, horses, sheep, goats, hogs, deer, rabbits, ostrich, poultry and crocodile [DA DC No. 1 (2014)].

8. Food Animal Welfare Management System (FAWMS) refers to a set of programs and activities providing methods or "tools" to implement and enforce food animal welfare rules and regulations in SLHs and PDPs with LTOs.

9. Food Animal Welfare Officer (FAWO) is a duly designated or appointed officer by the National Meat Inspection Service or the local government units tasked to perform functions in the implementation of the guidelines, rules and regulations related to welfare of food animals.

10. Food Animal Welfare Plan (FAW Plan) refers to an in-plant food animal welfare program prepared by meat establishments with LTOs and approved and regularly monitored by NMIS to ensure that food animals are handled humanely during transport until completely bled.

11. Food Animal Welfare Unit (FAWU) is a unit under the Plant Operation Standards and Monitoring Division (POSMD) of NMIS specifically tasked to manage the FAWMS and to enforce the animal welfare legislations in SLHs and PDPs with LTOs.

12. Humane Handling refers to handling of animals during transport, unloading, lairaging and moving of animals with the least fear, anxiety, pain and distress.

13. Inhumane Skin Marking refers to the practice or act of marking on the skin of the animal using sharp objects such as but not limited to blade, knife, hot iron, and hot iron branding primarily to identify ownership. Also colloquially known as "zorro" marking.

14. License to Operate refers to the licensing or the process by which NMIS approves an application of a person, corporation, cooperative or other juridical persons for authority to operate a meat establishment or to engage in any activity in the primary production and postproduction stages of the food supply chain to produce safe primary and postharvest animal food and inputs.

15. Meat Dealer refers to any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of buying or selling meat and meat products as carcasses, parts of carcasses or meat of food animals, on commission, or otherwise negotiating purchases or sales of such articles other than for his own account or as an employee of another person, firm or corporation. They usually sell in bulk and may conduct business from meat establishments.

16. Meat Dealer Code refers to the tattoo coding system composed of five (5) digits: the first 3 digits represent the LTO/registration number of the sourced slaughterhouse and the last 2 digits represents the alphanumeric code of the meat dealer.

Example:

Meat Dealer Code: 12301/123A1/123DR

123 — LTO/registration no. of slaughterhouse

01 — Juan Dela Cruz (Meat Dealer)

A1 — Juanita Batongbakal (Meat Dealer)

DR — Diosdado Ramos (Meat Dealer)

17. Meat Establishment refers to SLHs and PDPs with LTO.

18. Meat Inspection Personnel refers to any professionally qualified and trained officer or personnel, duly appointed by the NMIS or the local government unit for conduct of meat inspection and control of hygiene.

19. Suspect refers to the condition wherein final judgment on the animal cannot be ascertained and would therefore require further inspection and or examination.

20. Tattoo Slapper refers to a tattooing device used for identification of ownership of live pigs upon arrival at the slaughterhouse or just before slaughter resulting in a permanent mark on the carcass following the meat dealer code cited in this Circular.

21. Viajero refers to the food animal owner, live animal truck or vehicle driver or meat dealer who handles and transports food animals to the SLHs and/or PDPs.

SECTION III

Duties and Responsibilities

The following are the specific duties and responsibilities of persons involved in the handling of food animals transported to the meat establishment:

A. The Meat Establishment Management Owner or Operator shall:

1. Commit to implement food animal welfare regulations in their business establishment by having a written Standard Operating Procedure (FAW Plan) and provision of resources for its implementation;

2. Provide the necessary and adequate facilities, equipment, and supplies for humane handling and slaughtering of food animals;

3. Appoint a focal person within the SLH or PDP management who shall spearhead the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the FAW Plan and institute corrective actions when necessary;

4. Supervise and ensure that all personnel (animal handlers and butchers) complies with humane handling during receiving, unloading, holding, moving, stunning, sticking, slitting and bleeding of food animals as provided in DA-AO No. 18 (2008) (Annex A.1) and DA-AO No. 15 (2006) (Annex A.2).

5. Inspect, verify and keep for at least one year the following official transport documents:

a. Veterinary Health Certificate;

b. Barangay Clearance;

c. Certificate of Ownership;

d. Transfer Certificate;

e. Shipping Permit; and

f. Such other documents that may be required in the future by the controlling authorities.

6. Provide a tattoo slapper and adopt the meat dealer coding system;

7. Ensure all personnel undergoes appropriate trainings, skills and experience in carrying out activities having an impact on animal welfare;

8. Communicate with their clients, in support of NMIS, concerning implementation of the FAW Plan;

9. Provide measures and program to regulate its clients from practicing any form of suffering or stressful condition to food animals brought for slaughter;

10. Evaluate periodically and update the FAW Plan to ensure that the system works efficiently;

11. Keep the list of their meat dealers with their corresponding meat dealer code and this list shall be made available to NMIS plant officers upon request; and

12. Keep track of the list of province(s) of origin of food animals brought in by the animal owners and meat dealers by referring to the shipping permit or veterinary health certificate.

B. The Food Animal Owner or Dealer, Live Animal Truck or Vehicle Driver or Viajero, Meat Dealer shall:

1. Ensure that food animal trucks or vehicles are registered with Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI);

2. Drivers and their assistant(s) or convoys shall undergo trainings in humane handling of food animals at Bureau of Animal Industry, NMIS Central Office (CO) or NMIS Regional Technical Operation Center (RTOCs);

3. Comply to the requirements for humane handling during transport and unloading such as but not limited to provision of loading and unloading ramp, provision of facilities to minimize stress, trauma, overheating, overcrowding, physical or mechanical injury and unnecessary discomfort of food animals under their care;

4. Ensure food animals are not inhumanely branded or marked with unapproved sharp instruments on the skin to identify animal ownership;

5. Ensure that food animals are not subjected to "flooding";

6. Employ humane means of animal identification such as, but not limited to, livestock markers, ear tags and ear tattoo;

7. Use devices such as but not limited to flappers, pig boards or panels to and unload and move the animals into the lairage; and

8. Secure and present official transport documents as required by the controlling authorities.

C. The Meat Establishment FAW Focal Personnel, Butcher, Animal Handler shall:

1. Undergo appropriate trainings, skills development and hands-on experiences in carrying out activities having an impact on animal welfare;

2. Handle and move animals with the least fear, anxiety, injury, pain and distress;

3. Restrain food animals humanely and appropriately prior to stunning;

4. Not hold food animals inside the stunning box or pen in the following instances:

a. during breaks in slaughter operation, or

b. when the operator is not yet ready to stun and stick.

5. Stun animal presented for slaughter effectively by using appropriate stunning devices and in a manner that the animal does not regain consciousness before and during sticking and bleeding except the following exempted slaughtering method:

a. Halal

b. Kosher

c. Approved rituals

6. Observe stunning to sticking or slitting interval (SSI) as provided under Sec. 7.4.2 of DA AO No. 18 (2008).

7. Not practice pouching or pocketing for blood collection in conscious large animals; and

8. Ensure rapid, profuse and complete bleeding and allot a minimum of 30 seconds or until no more reflexes are observed before scalding or dressing.

SECTION IV

The Food Animal Welfare (FAW) Plan (Standard Operating Procedure)

1. The meat establishment management shall:

a. Prepare and implement a FAW Plan based on A.O. 18 (2008) and other relevant laws, the control of the FAW Plan shall be as follows:

a.1.) Company Requirements for the Transport of Food Animals;

a.2.) Receiving/Acceptance of Food Animals at the meat establishment;

a.3.) Unloading of food animals;

a.4.) Animal Identification in the Slaughterhouse;

a.5.) Handling/Holding or Resting Period of Food Animals;

a.6.) Emergency Slaughter/Handling Escaped Food Animals;

a.7) Restraint of Food Animals prior to Stunning;

a.8) Stunning;

a.9) Slaughter without stunning in large animals (for religious slaughter)

a.10) Sticking/Slitting and Bleeding;

a.11) Personnel Trainings; and

a.12) Calibration, maintenance and repair of equipment and facilities (ex. stunners, restraint box or pen).

b. Procedures on monitoring FAW implementation, corrective measures and actions instituted, review of records and documents for updating and improvement of their system;

c. Procedures and forms used on recording the origin of food animals brought in by the animal owners and meat dealers by referring to the shipping permit or veterinary health certificate for the purpose of traceability.

SECTION V

Key Components of the Food Animal Welfare (FAW) Plan

A. FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

1. Facilities

a. Unloading ramp for live animal truck haulers (both for regular and double-decked);

b. Appropriate raceway, holding pen and stunning box or pen design and layout that will not compromise animal welfare;

c. Lairage or holding pen with appropriate design and lay-out, sufficient space and number for each class of animal, adequately lit and ventilated, properly roofed, kept clean, sanitized, and pest controlled;

d. Strategically located isolation pen;

e. Sufficient supply of water and water troughs in all pens;

f. Resting areas have proper ventilation and cooling facilities especially during hot weather conditions;

g. Appropriate number and size of stunning box or pen based on the volume of slaughter; and

h. In PDPs, employ appropriate measures such as but not limited to subdued lighting or the use of blue light to help calm and minimize stress of birds during resting and shackling.

2. Equipment

a. Equipment or gadget for identification of ownership, driving or moving animals such as but not limited to flappers, rattles, pig boards and flags;

b. Animal truck/vehicle with appropriate lay-out necessary for the well-being of animals for efficient transport and unloading of food animals, currently registered by competent authority, and equipped with communication gadgets and other contingency measures necessary for emergency situations;

c. Equipment for humane handling of animals that are injured or unable to walk and stand or those requiring emergency slaughter;

d. Equipment for effective and appropriate restraint based on the type of animal for slaughter;

e. Equipment for effective restraint box for suspect pregnant animals shall be provided for pregnancy diagnosis and final judgment;

f. Electric stunner, captive bolt (penetrative or non-penetrative), pneumatic stunner or gas stunning equipment that is effective to render food animal unconscious and insensible to pain.

g. Electric stunners shall be calibrated and equipped with gauge to adjust or monitor the required setting of amperage (A), wattage (W), voltage (V) and in the case of mechanical stunners, pounds per square inch (psi).

h. Back-up stunner(s) should be available for emergency slaughter or re-stunning.

i. In the case of poultry, dressers shall have manual back-up for slitting if automatic neck slitters are used as to ensure humane procedures in cases of breakdown.

B. PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES

1. Effective and efficient identification of animal ownership, and method of handling or moving the animal;

2. Proper holding or resting time, method of restraint, stunning, sticking or slitting, and bleeding for a faster death of food animals;

3. Effective and efficient procedures and practices for humane handling of animals that are unable to stand/walk or injured that may or may not require emergency slaughter;

4. Observance of adequate resting and calming of food animals to provide them recovery from stress;

5. Requirements and standards for stunning procedures and the stunning and sticking/slitting interval (SSI) based on the type of the animals and type of stunning equipment used;

6. Observance of SSI during group stunning;

7. Checking for signs of unconsciousness of the animals before sticking;

8. Efficient maintenance of the stunning equipment;

9. Traditions, customs or religious practices that will not compromise the general well-being of food animals.

C. DAILY MONITORING, RECORDING AND DOCUMENTATION PROCEDURE

1. Records, documents and procedures required in the conduct of FAW Plan monitoring, recording, and documentation to be established by the meat establishment management are as follows:

a. Establish a procedure on recording the daily FAW Plan implementation from receiving of food animals until bleeding;

b. Establish a procedure on recording of non-conformances observed and the corresponding corrective actions instituted by the management and the record shall be available upon request by NMIS meat inspection personnel;

c. Keep a list of meat dealers/brokers and their corresponding Meat Dealer Code and shall be available upon request of assigned NMIS meat inspection personnel;

d. Record all meat dealer(s) or owner(s) of pigs bearing inhumane skin markings in the daily monitoring report;

e. Maintain training competency records of personnel.

2. The FAW Plan shall be reviewed every year and amended or revised when necessary.

SECTION VI

Regulatory Activities by Government Controlling Authority

A. EVALUATION OF THE FAW PLAN

1. The FAW Plan shall be initially evaluated by the Regional Technical Operating Center before application for certification or renewal of LTO and shall be monitored regularly by assigned NMIS and Deputized meat inspection officers.

2. The FAW Plan implementation shall be subjected to surveillance within the establishment's LTO validity.

3. The POSMS heads and FAWOs shall evaluate the FAW Plan of the meat establishment along with other operational requirements before endorsing for LTO application of SLHs and PDPs using the FAW Plan Checklist (Annex D).

4. Failure to pass the evaluation, the meat establishment shall not be endorsed for certification or renewal of LTO or depending on the gravity and frequency of non-conformance that may result to revocation of license and/or subjected to adjudication.

5. The Food Animal Welfare (FAW) Checklist shall be incorporated into the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Checklist for SLHs and PDPs.

B. VERIFICATION OF FAW PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

This provides the procedures on validation and verification by NMIS and Deputized meat inspection personnel of the meat establishment management's compliance to food animal welfare rules and regulations:

1. Monitoring of the management's commitment to disallow practice of inhumane skin markings in pigs for identification of ownership and the practice of flooding within the slaughterhouse premises.

2. Verify the daily monitoring reports, record(s) of non-compliance and the corresponding corrective actions instituted by the meat establishment management.

3. Observe procedures and practices, record and document incidents of flooding in large animals, pigs with inhumane skin markings and other animal welfare issues using the Food Animal Welfare Compliance Report Form (Annex B.1.) and submit incident reports to POSMS heads.

4. Meat inspection personnel shall monitor and verify the Food Animal Welfare implementation in their assigned SLH and/or PDP at least once a week.

5. Meat inspection personnel are required to submit at least one (1) monitoring report per week or a total of four (4) monitoring reports per month per establishment to their POSMS head. The monitoring, verification, documentation and reporting process flow diagram is provided in (Annex C).

SECTION VII

Disposition of Pigs with Inhumane Skin Markings for Slaughter

1. Meat inspection personnel shall inspect all pigs for slaughter for inhumane skin markings during receiving and ante-mortem.

2. All hogs with inhumane skin markings shall be considered a suspect for possible abscesses or ecchymosis and shall be slaughtered last.

3. All parts bearing large and deep inhumane skin marks with or without hemorrhages and abscesses on the skin shall be trimmed off and condemned.

4. Lymph nodes shall be checked for swelling and/or hemorrhage and used as basis for final disposition of the carcass.

5. Condemned parts shall remain under the custody of the meat inspection personnel until their disposal in a safe and secure manner.

6. Any expenses incurred in the disposal of such condemned animal, carcass and/or parts of carcass shall be shouldered by the food animal owner, broker or dealer as provided under DA DC No. 1 (2014).

SECTION VIII

Inspection and Disposition of Large Animals with Signs of Flooding

1. During arrival of large animals and ante-mortem inspection, NMIS and LGU meat inspection personnel shall look for signs of flooding in large animals.

2. In holding pens, Plant officers and LGU meat inspection personnel shall pay particular attention to large animals being tied up in a manner to keep the animal's head and nostrils tilted up.

3. During ante-mortem inspection, possible signs of flooding in an animal are the following but are not limited to:

a. Alert, sensitive and with worried demeanor;

b. Dilated eyes;

c. Shivering;

d. Arched back with head extending forward;

e. Bulging abdomen, especially left side;

f. Sudden collapse, unable or with difficulty moving;

g. Fresh blood in the nostrils and mouth;

h. Salivation;

i. Vomiting water (sometimes with ruminal contents);

j. Difficulty in breathing (short and fast breathing);

k. Frequent urination; and

l. Water spurting out of the nostrils, anus and mouth.

4. During ante-mortem, an animal which is in pain shall be subjected to emergency slaughter and shall be subjected to post-mortem inspection for final disposition.

5. Large animals suspected to have been flooded shall be treated as a "suspect" and shall be slaughtered last or held for 4-6 hours from the time of its arrival to the slaughterhouse.

6. At arrival, unloading, and during holding period, all dead animals shall be condemned.

7. During any dressing procedure, the carcass shall be condemned when large volumes of water with or without ruminal contents gushes out of the nostrils and mouth are observed immediately after stunning and during hanging of carcass.

SECTION IX

Creation of the Food Animal Welfare Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Team (FAW-CMET)

A team which shall be known as the Food Animal Welfare Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Team (FAW-CMET) shall be organized through a Special Order.

1. The Plant Operation Standards and Monitoring Division (POSMD), in consultation with Meat Standard Development and Consumer Protection Division (MSDCPD)-Enforcement Section, shall prepare the Manual of Operations on the procedures for enforcement of Animal Welfare Act and its implementing rules and regulations.

2. The FAW-CMET shall be composed of a core group and support groups from Regional Technical Operating Centers (RTOCs) which have completed Trainings on Food Animal Welfare Program and must be permanent employees of National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).

3. The FAW-CMET Core group shall be composed of representatives from POSMD and MSDCPD and shall be headed by the POSMD Chief/Head.

4. Support groups shall be composed of the FAWOs and the enforcement team members in the RTOCs and can seek the assistance from Local Meat Inspection Office of local government units (LGUs) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) assigned to their respective locality to provide security and assistance in the conduct of condemnation of animals, seizure of properties, or arrest of individuals who are in conflict with the animal welfare legislation.

SECTION X

Sustainability

1. Within two (2) years upon approval of this Circular, the NMIS with the assistance from the LGUs, shall develop a program to ensure and sustain the enforcement of the Food Animal Welfare Program in all licensed to operate and locally-registered SLHs and PDPs.

2. The NMIS, with the assistance of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), shall develop a collaborative, smooth transition of enforcement programs on food animal welfare in the SLHs and PDPs.

3. The NMIS shall continue to allocate funds to sustain the implementation of animal welfare legislation in SLHs and PDPs and enforcement by FAW-CMET.

4. The POSMD, in consultation with the MSDCPD, shall develop monitoring and feedback mechanisms from stakeholders.

5. Evaluation of the enforcement of animal welfare legislation in slaughterhouses and poultry dressing plants shall be undertaken two (2) years after the issuance of this Circular.

SECTION XI

Administrative Sanctions and Penalty

A. Administrative

1. All meat dealers and animal owners who employ inhumane skin markings shall be issued with notices of warning signed by the assigned meat inspection personnel, as follows:

a. First warning: Issuance of Notice of 1st Warning (Annex B.2.) and accompanied with the Incident Report of the assigned plant officer; and

b. Last warning: Issuance of Notice of 2nd Warning (Annex B.3.) accompanied by the Food Animal Welfare Compliance Report Form and copy of the First Warning Incident Report;

c. Succeeding non-compliance or violation after the issuance of the Notice of Final Warning shall warrant imposition of fines and penalties as provided in the succeeding sections.

2. The following are the administrative fines pursuant to RA 10536, amending RA 9296 or the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines:

a. First offense: issuance of Notice of Violation and a fine of Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00);

b. Second offense: issuance of Notice of Final Warning and a fine of Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00); and

c. Third and succeeding offenses shall prohibit the violator from conducting business for two (2) years and a fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00).

3. As provided in Rule 13.4, Dept. Circular No. 1 (2014), inhumane treatment of food animals, such as mishandling or the infliction of unnecessary pain or distress and the like, prior to and during slaughter shall be a cause for suspension of operations of the meat establishments and shall be a ground for revocation of the LTO when no corrective actions are instituted by the management of these establishments within a specified period of time.

SECTION XII

Criminal Prosecution

Criminal complaint shall be filed against the suspect for violation of the Animal Welfare Act or the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines.

SECTION XIII

Non-Exclusivity and Implementation

1. All existing implementing rules and regulations, policies, procedures and standards not inconsistent with this Memorandum Circular shall form an integral part of this issuance and shall be annexed hereto.

2. An orientation and advocacy nationwide shall be undertaken by NMIS FAWU within six months from effectivity after which this Circular is deemed fully implemented.

SECTION XIV

Repealing Clause

1. All existing memorandum circulars, rules and regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Circular are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

2. This Circular also repeals Rule V. h. of Memorandum Order No. 10-99-04 Re: Guidelines on the Collection of Blood for Food in Slaughterhouses.

SECTION XV

Effectivity

This Memorandum Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in the newspaper of general circulation and submission of copy to the National Administrative Register (NAR), UP College of Law, Diliman, Quezon City.

Date published: __________ Newspaper: __________

Date submitted to NAR: __________

SO ORDERED.

 

(SGD.) ATTY. BEATA HUMILDA O. OBSIOMA, DVM, PhDExecutive Director