PART 309-ANTE-MORTEM INSPECTION

AUTHORITY: 21 U.S.C. 601-695; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.55.

2. Paragraph (b) of section 309.2 is revised to read as follows:
§ 309.2 Livestock suspected of being diseased or affected with certain conditions; identifying suspects; disposition on post-mortem inspection or otherwise.
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(b) All seriously crippled animals and non-ambulatory disabled livestock shall be identified as U.S. Suspects and disposed of as provided in § 311.1 of this subchapter unless they are required to be classed as condemned under § 309.3. Non-ambulatory disabled livestock are livestock that cannot rise from a recumbent position or that cannot walk, including, but not limited to, those with broken appendages, severed tendons or ligaments, nerve paralysis, fractured vertebral column, or metabolic conditions.
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3. Section 309.3 is revised by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
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(e) Non-ambulatory disabled cattle shall be condemned and disposed of in accordance with § 309.13.

Non-ambulatory disabled cattle are not allowed to enter the slaughter establishment and must be humanely handled and killed by the establishment. FSIS will record such cattle as "condemned" and ensure that the carcass is appropriately treated so that it doesn't get into the human food chain. The condemned cattle must be disposed of in a timely manner so that an insanitary condition does not arise.