Shipping and Handling of Day-Old Poultry
Background
The U.S. Postal Service has been transporting live, day-old poultry since 1918. “Day-old poultry” is defined as day-old chickens, ducks, emus, geese, guinea birds, partridges, pheasants, quail, and turkeys. As the primary shipper for these time-sensitive shipments, or “lives,” the Postal Service provides an essential service for hatcheries, farmers, feed stores, and backyard hobbyists. Last year, the Postal Service handled over 41 million lives through its air network alone.
To ensure safe, effective, and efficient transportation, the Postal Service requires mailers of live animals to comply with established guidelines. In turn, the Postal Service prioritizes shipment of lives through its processing and logistic networks.
What We Did
Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of procedures for the acceptance, handling, and delivery of live, day-old poultry. For this audit, we interviewed Postal Service management and staff, three hatcheries, and a major association of bird shippers. We also judgmentally selected and conducted site visits at seven processing facilities, eight post offices, and two of the Postal Service’s air carrier’s facilities.
What We Found
While the Postal Service works continuously to improve practices for the well-being of lives, such as developing policy and procedures, we found opportunities exist to further protect the lives’ welfare. Specifically, the Postal Service untimely communicated network changes and ineffectively coordinated on shipment issues with its customers. In addition, gaps existed in policies and procedures for the acceptance, handling, and delivery of lives. Further, the Postal Service did not provide adequate oversight of its contracted air carrier operations. Failed shipments, for any reason, can result in the death of lives, which hurts the Postal Service brand and damages its relationship with bird shippers, customers, and animal welfare advocates alike.
Recommendations and Management’s Comments
We made 11 recommendations to address the issues identified in the report. Postal Service management agreed with eight recommendations and disagreed with three. Management’s comments and our evaluation are at the end of each finding and recommendation. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) considers management’s comments responsive to recommendations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10 as corrective actions should resolve the issues identified in the report. We will work with management on recommendations 7, 8, and 11 through the audit resolution process.