When performing HATS Category III (Water and Feed Availability) IPP observe that a holding pen has two water troughs but only one is filled, and all animals in the pen have access to the trough. Would they document noncompliance?

• A. Yes
• B. No
• C. Not Applicable
• D. Indeterminate

Answer: (B)

Water availability focuses on whether every animal has access to drinking water, not on having every trough filled. If all animals can reach a water source that is supplying water, the requirement is met. In this case, even though only one of two troughs is filled, all animals in the pen have access to water, so there is no noncompliance. Noncompliance would occur only if some animals lacked access to water or the water source was unusable (blocked, empty, or contaminated).