The Agency of Agriculture has reached a settlement agreement with a Springfield slaughterhouse that violated federal livestock handling standards.Vermont Packinghouse received four USDA violations over the past year after animals were not properly stunned prior to being slaughtered.
Vermont state veterinarian Kristin Hass says the company has agreed to pay the state $1,250 and have an outside auditor tour the plant to make recommendations to improve conditions.
"It wasn't just a onetime thing," Haas said. "There were issues that had happened over a period of time that seemed to be continuing so that's why we made the decision to step in and take the measures that we did."
Vermont passed a law in 2010 that gives the Agency of Agriculture authority to step in when a slaughterhouse violates USDA standards.
While federal inspectors found four violations, the Agency of Agriculture hit the company with six, including two for failure to slaughter livestock humanely.
The company says it has already taken steps to prevent additional incidents.
