THE HUMANE HAND:

A resource for developing careful and confident livestock handlers in meat plants.

September 2026

Prevent Problems Before They Reach the Production Floor

Is your stunning equipment reliable? Is the person tasked with maintenance comfortable with taking the tool apart, checking for worn parts, and putting it back together?

Bring YOUR stunning equipment (captive bolts and electrical stunners) to this one-day training to get comfortable with cleaning, advanced maintenance and repairing stunning equipment. Then, learn how to test the equipment to make sure it works before you take it out on the floor.

Prevent:

Equipment failures
Enforcement actions
Production interruptions
Employee turn-over

Stunning Equipment Maintenance and Testing

Oct. 8

Cost: $750

Workshop held at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus in River Falls, Wisconsin, about 30 minutes east of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Find us on the map.

Understanding Enforcement Actions and Opportunities for Improvement

HHI Scientist and Trainer Karly Anderson shares results of the assessment of 2025 Humane Handling enforcement actions in the 2025 September issue of Meat + Poultry Magazine. Thank you to Program Technician Megan Winkelman who assisted with data collection and assessment for this project. Read about the study here.

Find Us at the DIH Summit

HHI will present at the 2026 Dairy Innovation Hub Summit on November 17. Attend in person at UW-Platteville or sign up for a live virtual option. Join us to learn more about HHI research regarding captive bolt placement for various groups of dairy cattle. Free to attend. Visit the website for a full event agenda and online registration.

Join Us for a Free Roundtable Discussion!

Humane handling at the time of slaughter isn’t just a legal requirement; it’s the right thing to do. Exceeding the minimum legal requirements also improves the quality of the meat harvested and meets the demands of a growing segment of shoppers.

Experts from the Humane Handling Institute at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls will join Flower Hill Institute for a one-hour online roundtable covering steps that can be taken and resources available to help processors ensure that livestock stay calm and free from pain at the time of harvest.

The roundtable will cover humane animal handling, stunning equipment maintenance, and effective stunning techniques.

Humane Handling Institute

hhi@uwrf.edu

715-425-4987

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