Description
Inspect livestock, animal housing and transport, and slaughter/meat processing operations to ensure compliance with animal health, welfare, quality, and food safety regulations.
- • Inspect livestock, farms, markets, transport vehicles, and related facilities for compliance with animal health, welfare, quality, and food safety laws.
- • Examine or test animals to detect infectious diseases, parasites, injuries, and drug or chemical residues and assess animal condition and quality.
- • Verify transport, holding, handling, and humane slaughter procedures meet regulatory requirements.
- • Collect samples from animals, carcasses, milk, feed, or environments and submit to labs for pathogen, residue, or diagnostic testing.
- • Interpret and enforce animal health and food safety regulations and explain required standards to producers, haulers, and processors.
- • Prepare reports, citations, and recommendations and advise ranchers, feedlot operators, and processors on corrective actions.
- • Inspect employee hygiene, animal handling practices, and biosecurity protocols at farms, markets, and plants.
- • Monitor operations and sanitary conditions of slaughter and meat processing plants handling livestock.
- • Inspect meat and by-products and processing steps to determine whether products derived from livestock are safe to eat.
- • Take enforcement actions, including quarantines, product or carcass holds, or facility shutdowns, if health or safety is compromised.
- • Verify grading, identification, and traceability practices, including tags, brands, and movement records, conform to standards.
- • Label and seal approved carcasses or lots and issue official inspection or grading certificates.
- • Examine, weigh, and measure live animals, carcasses, and by-products to certify qualities, grades, and weights.
- • Review feed formulas, medication usage, and withdrawal times for compliance with labels and regulations.
- • Provide consultative services on facility design, equipment, animal welfare programs, vaccination and biosecurity plans, and food safety systems.
- • Testify in administrative or legal proceedings regarding inspections or enforcement actions.
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Related Pathways
Agriculture
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
