California man charged with pig slaughtering
A retired school teacher is facing charges of illegally butchering pigs and selling the meat from his home.
Five counts of violating the California Food and Agriculture Code were filed against Artxezin “Art” Mariscal Amezcua, 62, in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, California in April.
The complaint charges Amezcua with slaughtering and preparing livestock in violation of the meat and poultry inspection chapter of the Food and Agricultural Code. Other counts in the complaint include conducting an unlicensed operation, operating an unclean establishment and operating an unsanitary establishment.
The final count charges Amezcua with conducting the operation without applying for a permit from the Department of Food and Agriculture, which investigated the slaughtering operation. The pigs allegedly were slaughtered and sold for years at Amezcua’s four-bedroom house in Nipomo.
Pig blood also was allegedly sold when requested, and up to 48 pigs a month were slaughtered at the 2.35 hectare site.
Carcasses reportedly were sometimes left on the ground to rot or be eaten by wild animals and wandering dogs on the property named Rancho Sestero de las Aves.
Amezcua taught government for more than 30 years and ballet folklorico — traditional Mexican folk dancing — for nearly 20 years at Santa Maria High School. He was considered by many to be the most knowledgeable folklorico expert in Santa Barbara County.
At the end of the 2010-11 school year, Amezcua retired from his teaching job to the Nipomo ranch he shares with his wife, Rosario.
Source: The Lompo Record
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