The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 6 : Agriculture

Chapter 204 : Preparation of Livestock and Poultry Products

• § 3311a. Livestock; inspection; licensing; personal slaughter; itinerant slaughter

  (a) As used in this section:

  (1) “Assist in the slaughter of livestock” means the act of slaughtering or butchering an animal and shall not mean the farmer’s provision of a site on the farm for slaughter, provision of implements for slaughter, or the service of disposal of the carcass or offal from slaughter.

  (2) “Sanitary conditions” means a site on a farm that is:

  (A) clean and free of contaminants; and

  (B) located or designed in a way to prevent:

  (i) the occurrence of water pollution; and

  (ii) the adulteration of the livestock or the slaughtered meat.

  (b) The requirement for a license under section 3306 of this title or for inspection under this chapter shall not apply to the slaughter by an owner of livestock that the owner raised for the owner’s exclusive use or for the use of members of his or her household and his or her nonpaying guests and employees.

  (c) The requirement for a license under section 3306 of this title or for inspection under this chapter shall not apply to the slaughter of livestock that occurs in a manner that meets all of the following requirements:

  (1) A person or persons purchases livestock from a farmer who raised the livestock.

  (2) The farmer is registered with the Secretary, on a form provided by the Secretary, as selling livestock for slaughter under this subsection.

  (3) The individual or individuals who purchased the livestock performs the act of slaughtering the livestock, as the owner of the livestock.

  (4) The act of slaughter occurs, after approval from the farmer who sold the livestock, on a site on the farm where the livestock was purchased.

  (5) The slaughter is conducted under sanitary conditions.

  (6) The farmer who sold the livestock to the individual or individuals does not assist in the slaughter of the livestock.

  (7) Not more than the following number of livestock per year are slaughtered under this subsection:

  (A) 30 swine;

  (B) 10 cattle;

  (C) 80 sheep or goats; or

  (D) any combination of swine, cattle, sheep, or goats, provided that not more than 12,000 pounds of the live weight of livestock are slaughtered per year.

  (8) The farmer who sold the livestock to the individual or individuals maintains a record of each slaughter conducted under this subsection and reports quarterly to the Secretary, on a form provided by the Secretary, on or before April 15 for the calendar quarter ending March 31, on or before July 15 for the calendar quarter ending June 30, on or before October 15 for the calendar quarter ending September 30, and on or before January 15 for the calendar quarter ending December 31. If a farmer fails to report slaughter activity conducted under this subsection, the Secretary, in addition to any enforcement action available under this chapter or chapter 1 of this title, may suspend the authority of the farmer to sell animals to an individual or individuals for slaughter under this subsection.

  (9) The slaughtered livestock may be halved or quartered by the individual or individuals who purchased the livestock but solely for the purpose of transport from the farm.

  (10) The livestock is slaughtered according to a humane method, as that term is defined in subdivision 3131(6) of this title.

  (d) The requirement for a license under section 3306 of this title or for inspection under this chapter shall not apply to an itinerant slaughterer engaged in the act of itinerant livestock slaughter or itinerant poultry slaughter.

  (e) An itinerant slaughterer may slaughter livestock owned by a person on the farm where the livestock was raised under the following conditions:

  (1) the meat from the slaughter of the livestock is distributed only as whole, halved, or quartered carcasses to the person who owned the animal for his or her personal use or for use by members of his or her household or nonpaying guests;

  (2) the slaughter is conducted under sanitary conditions; and

  (3) the livestock is slaughtered according to a humane method, as that term is defined in subdivision 3131(6) of this title.

  (f) A carcass or offal from slaughter conducted under this section shall be disposed of according to the requirements under the required agricultural practices for the management of agricultural waste. (Added 2013, No. 83, § 4, eff. June 10, 2013; amended 2015, No. 64, § 13; 2015, No. 98 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 10, 2016; 2019, No. 83, § 6; 2021, No. 47, § 1a.)