Section ATCP 55.04 - Slaughter and other processing inspection; general(1) SLAUGHTER INSPECTION REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided in pars. (b) to (d), no person may sell any meat from any food animal for human consumption unless the department or the United States department of agriculture has conducted a slaughter inspection of that food animal. The slaughter inspection shall include an ante mortem inspection of the live food animal, and a post mortem inspection of the food animal carcass. Note: Slaughter inspection is not required for custom slaughtered animals, because there is no sale of meat. Except as allowed under the cooperative interstate shipment program, federal law prohibits the interstate sale of meat from animals slaughtered under state (rather than federal) inspection. But this federal prohibition does not apply to meat from farm-raised deer, captive game animals, captive game birds, bison, alpacas, llamas, or rabbits.
(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a person selling meat from a captive game animal or captive game bird if neither the department nor the United States department of agriculture has established ante mortem or post mortem inspection procedures for that type of captive game animal or captive game bird. Note: The exemption under par. (b) is very limited, because the department and USDA have established inspection standards for most captive game animals and game birds.
(c) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a person selling meat from not more than 1,000 poultry annually, provided that all the following apply: 1. The person produces all of those poultry on his or her premises.2. The person slaughters, otherwise processes, and sells the poultry at the premises where they are produced or directly to consumers contracting with the person's community supported agriculture business, or has them slaughtered and otherwise processed at a licensed meat establishment.3. The person clearly and conspicuously labels each package or container of poultry meat with the processor's name and address and the words "NOT INSPECTED." Note: See s. 97.42(11), Stats.
(d) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a person selling meat from rabbits, provided that all the following apply:1. The person only slaughters and otherwise processes rabbits produced on that person's premises.2. The person slaughters and otherwise processes not more than 3,000 rabbits annually.3. The person keeps a record of the number of rabbits slaughtered, retains that record for at least 3 years, and makes the record available for inspection and copying by the department upon request.4. The person slaughtering and otherwise processing rabbits complies with the requirements of s. ATCP 55.07(4).5. The person holds an establishment license under s. ATCP 55.03.(1m) PROCESSING INSPECTION REQUIRED. (a) No person operating a licensed meat establishment may sell any meat or poultry product unless that meat or poultry product is labeled as provided in s. ATCP 55.10(3).(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to meat or poultry products processed at a retail food establishment licensed under s. 97.30, Stats., and sold only to individual consumers at that establishment.(2) SLAUGHTER AND OTHER PROCESSING INSPECTION PROVIDED TO LICENSED MEAT ESTABLISHMENTS. (a) The department shall provide required ante mortem and post mortem slaughter inspection services and processing inspection services to operators of meat establishments licensed under s. ATCP 55.03. The department shall specify the minimum frequency at which custom slaughter and other custom processing activities in a licensed meat establishment are to be inspected. This inspection frequency shall be at least once every three months during which custom processing activities or transactions occur. The department may not provide slaughter or other processing inspection services to other persons.(b) A meat establishment operator requesting slaughter or other processing inspection services shall submit the request to the department in writing, and shall specify a proposed schedule of slaughter or other processing according to s. ATCP 55.03(12) (b). The department may require a different schedule, as provided in s. ATCP 55.03(12) (c). The meat establishment operator may not deviate from the specified schedule without prior department approval, as provided in s. ATCP 55.03(12) (d).(3) SLAUGHTER INSPECTION SITE. (a) The department may not perform a slaughter inspection at any place other than a meat establishment licensed under s. ATCP 55.03, except that the department may agree to perform field ante mortem inspections on any of the following: 1. Apparently healthy farm-raised deer or captive game animals that cannot be safely or humanely transported to a licensed meat establishment for ante mortem inspection.2. Apparently healthy livestock or ratites, if special circumstances prevent the transportation of those animals to a licensed meat establishment for ante mortem inspection.(b) The department may not perform field ante mortem inspections under par. (a) on diseased animals, or on animals that cannot stand or walk.(c) If an animal passes a field ante mortem inspection under par. (a), the operator of a meat establishment licensed under s. ATCP 55.03 may stun and bleed the animal in the field. The operator shall bleed the animal immediately after stunning, and shall immediately transport the carcass to the meat establishment for skinning, post mortem inspection, and processing. The operator shall transport the carcass in compliance with s. ATCP 55.11. The inspector shall identify the carcass and monitor the carcass shipment, as necessary, to ensure compliance with this paragraph. (4) INSPECTION CHARGES; WHEN REQUIRED. The department shall provide slaughter inspection services under subs. (2) and (3) without charge, except that the department shall charge a meat establishment operator for slaughter inspection services if any of the following apply: (a) The inspection pertains to a captive game animal or captive game bird.(b) The department performs the inspection on any of the following days, or at any of the following times: 1. Days or times not included in the normal schedule of slaughter or other processing under sub. (2).2. Before 6:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m.3. Any inspection time in excess of 40 hours in any calendar week.5. The holidays of New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day. If any of these holidays, other than New Year's Eve and Christmas Eve, falls on Sunday, the following Monday is considered the holiday.6. Any day that is an official holiday for state employees.(5) INSPECTION CHARGES; AMOUNT. (a) If sub. (4) requires a meat establishment operator to pay for slaughter inspection services, the department shall bill and the operator shall pay uniform hourly charges for those services. The department shall establish uniform hourly charges based on the department's statewide average cost to provide inspection services. The department may establish higher hourly charges for inspections that must be provided by veterinarians. Note: A veterinarian must inspect animals that cannot stand or walk, and animals found to be suspect on ante mortem examination. See ss. ATCP 55.07(8) and 55.05(2).
(b) The department shall notify a meat establishment operator of the applicable hourly charge before providing an inspection service requiring a charge under sub. (4). The department shall give at least 30 days prior written notice before increasing hourly charges under an ongoing inspection agreement.(6) SLAUGHTER AND OTHER PROCESSING INSPECTION PROCEDURES. Slaughter and other processing inspection procedures shall comply with this chapter, including ss. ATCP 55.05 to 55.07 and applicable federal requirements as specified in 9 CFR Chapter III, Subchapters A and E.(7) INSPECTOR ABSENCE. A meat establishment operator shall immediately notify the department if a department inspector fails to appear for a scheduled ante mortem or post mortem inspection required under sub. (1). The department shall provide an inspector as soon as possible, so that slaughter may proceed in a timely manner.(8) WITHDRAWING INSPECTION. The department may, upon written notice, withdraw inspection of slaughter or other processing for cause, including violations of this chapter. No person may conduct operations for which department inspection is required under this chapter while those inspection services are withdrawn.(9) INSPECTION EFFICIENCY. All animal slaughter or other processing shall be conducted with sufficient staffing to attain a reasonable rate of operation, considering the meat establishment's size and scope of operations. Ante mortem and post mortem inspection shall be conducted continuously throughout slaughter with one lunch period of between 30 and 45 minutes beginning between four and five hours after slaughter operations begin.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection ATCP 55.04
CR 01-042: cr. Register March 2002 No. 555, eff. 4-1-02; EmR 1213: emerg. am. (title), cr. (1m), am. (2) (title), (a), (b), (6), eff. 9-13-12; CR 12-040: am. (title), cr. (1m), am. (2) (title), (a), (b), (6) Register May 2013 No. 689, eff. 6-1-13.Amended by, CR 17-072: am. (title), (1) (a), (c), cr. (1) (d), am. (1m), (2), (3) (a) 2., (4) (title), (b) 1., 3., 5., (5) (title), (6), (8), cr. (9) Register July 2018 No. 751, eff. 8-1-18 except (1) (d), eff. 9-1-19; correction in (1) (a), (d) (intro.) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register July 2018 No. 751, eff.8/1/2018Amended by, correction in (1) (d) 5. (Note) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register December 2018 No. 756, eff. 1/1/2019