Senate Bill No. 411

(By Senators Ross, Helmick, Sharpe, Scott and Plymale)

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[Introduced February 16, 1996; referred to the Committee on Agriculture.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article two-b, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to exemptions to the inspecting of meat and meat products when animals are slaughtered and dressed for exclusive use of owner, his family and other nonpaying persons; and providing when owner can pay a person who is not a commercial or custom slaughterer for his services.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article two-b, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2B. INSPECTION OF ANIMALS, MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS.

§19-2B-8. Exemptions.

(a) In order to accomplish the objectives of this article, the commissioner may by reasonable rules and regulations exempt from inspection:
(i) Any commercial dealer, provided all carcasses, meat, meat food products and meat by-products sold or offered for sale by such dealer were slaughtered and/or processed in commercial establishments under state inspection or have been inspected and passed by the United States department of agriculture or have been approved by the United States department of agriculture and shall be prepared, identified, labeled and sold in normal retail quantities as prescribed by reasonable rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner;
(ii) The slaughtering by any person of animals of his own raising, and the preparation by him of the carcasses, meat, meat food products and meat by-products of such animals exclusively for use by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees; or custom slaughtered animals, by a custom slaughterer, delivered by the owner thereof for such slaughter and the preparation by such slaughterer or custom processor of the carcasses, meat, meat food products and meat by-products of such animals, exclusively for use, in the household of such owner, by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees: Provided, That the custom slaughterer or custom processor is not handling adulterated carcasses, meat, meat food products and meat by-products; maintains identity of carcasses, meat, meat food products and meat by-products; and maintains acceptable sanitation and operational controls as prescribed by reasonable rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner: Provided, however, That nothing contained in this article shall prevent any person, who has animals of his own raising, when the meat, meat food products and meat by-products of such animals are exclusively used by him and members of his household and nonpaying guests and employees, from slaughtering any of those animals or having any of those animals slaughtered or dressed by a person other than a commercial slaughterer or custom slaughterer, as defined in this article, and paying that person for these services;
(iii) Antemortem and postmortem inspection of a licensed custom slaughterer;
(iv) Any other operations which the commissioner may determine would best be exempted to further the purposes of this article, to the extent such exemptions conform to the federal Meat Inspection Act and the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act, as amended from time to time, and the regulations thereunder.
(b) Any institution operated by the state requiring inspection under this article shall be exempt from the licensing fee as required by section four of said article.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the owner of animals raised, maintained and slaughtered exclusively for his own use, to pay for the services of slaughtering, butchering or dressing the carcass, to a person who is not a commercial or custom slaughterer.


Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.