All USDA food safety and inspection service (USDA fsis) inspected, and state inspected, livestock slaughter establishments must follow the regulations in 9 CFR 313, which enforce the humane methods of…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Wisconsin–River Falls $150,000 on August 1, 2026, under the Capacity Building for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture program (CFDA 10.326) to develop and assess virtual reality training in humane and effective cattle stunning prior to slaughter.

The recipient will acquire virtual reality software and integrate it into training activities at the Humane Handling Institute. A minimum of 300 meat industry personnel and 150 university students will complete the program and undergo pre-test and post-test assessments measuring operator confidence, technical knowledge, and performance (quantified by successful stuns). Post-training, participants will receive a follow-up survey to measure retention of operational confidence. The project will track humane handling enforcement actions on an annual basis to evaluate compliance outcomes.

The project addresses deficiencies in preslaughter stunning compliance under 9 CFR 313 (Humane Methods of Slaughter Act). Violations of stunning standards typically trigger extended slaughter stoppages exceeding one day's production, damage facility reputation, erode consumer trust, compromise worker safety due to unpredictable animal behavior, and negatively affect worker psychological wellbeing and retention in slaughter operations.

Performance occurs at River Falls, Wisconsin. The period of performance runs from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2029.

All USDA food safety and inspection service (USDA fsis) inspected, and state inspected, livestock slaughter establishments must follow the regulations in 9 CFR 313, which enforce the humane methods of slaughter act. This law and associated regulations require preslaughter stunning of most livestock with the exception of ritual slaughter procedures. Humane and effective stunning is critical to maintaining meat security because violations of 9 CFR 313 typically result in lengthy stoppages of inspection and slaughter procedures which often exceed one day's production. Such violations negatively impact the reputation and consumer trust in violating establishments. Finally, the safety of the workers involved in livestock slaughter is often compromised when animals are not effectively stunned because they are highly unpredictable and dangerous to handle. Mentally and emotionally, failed stunning can have a substantial negative impact on the wellbeing of slaughter personnel and their willingness to stay in this important role in maintaining a steady and safe meat supply. The proposed work focuses on a novel, non-invasive, and low-risk approach to workforce training in humane, safe, and effective stunning of cattle prior to slaughter using virtual reality technology. A virtual reality software program will be acquired and added to training activities at the humane handling institute. A minimum of 300 meat industry personnel and 150 university students will utilize the virtual reality program and complete pre-test and post-test assessments of operator confidence, technical knowledge, and performance assessments that will quantify the number of successful stuns while the program is in use. After this initial assessment, a survey will be mailed to participants to assess the retention of operational confidence by trainees. In addition to the assessment of the virtual reality training system, humane handling enforcement actions will be tracked on an annual basis and results will be publicly reported through trade publications and industry presentations. This project will provide scientific guidance to the implementation of a training tool that has great potential for workforce development through low-risk, high-impact practices. Improvement of stunner training for meat industry personnel will help to maintain access to meat processing capacity for farmers and ranchers and consumer trust in meat processing establishments.