Prohibition of the Use of Certain Stunning Devices Used to Immobilize Cattle During Slaughter

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the Federal meat inspection regulations to prohibit the use of penetrative captive bolt stunning devices that deliberately inject air into the cranial cavity of cattle. This rulemaking responds to the findings of a risk assessment on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) conducted by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (referred to as the Harvard study) and is part of a series of actions that the USDA is taking to strengthen its BSE prevention programs. The Harvard study found that, owing to already ongoing Federal programs, the U.S. is highly resistant to the introduction and spread of the disease. Even so, the USDA response to BSE has always been proactive and preventive. Therefore, FSIS is taking this action to address the potential risk posed by stunning devices that may force visible pieces of brain, known as macro-emboli, into the circulatory system of stunned cattle.