This makes me so mad.

[debilorrah]

 

[welsummerchicks]

We shall see, we shall see. Call me a total skeptic but I have very little faith that this is anything other than a one sided story meant to rile people up.

Most people aren't aware that there are illegal slaughterhouses (not really slaughter houses at all, just a few filthy animal pens and animals killed out in the yard) in and around most big cities, where animals are kept in deplorable conditions and put down in filthy conditions and butchered and sold to 'friends and family'. It's possible that in attempting to get rid of these that some people will find their practices step over the legal line. And maybe there's a reason for that legal line to exist. Maybe for example the salmonella outbreak in eggs might not have happened if the egg company had followed the few fairly reasonable rules about disposing of manure and dead animals, there wouldn't have been a salmonella outbreak.

I seem to recall no one was defending the company during that thread. But see? That was a big company. Big companies are evil. This is an individual. Individuals can do no wrong. If they get busted, automatically assume they did nothing wrong, their rights are being violated and the police are storm troopers and the judicial system stinks. Right?

Not ready to be a believer just yet.

Maybe someone who butchers animals at home should have to clean up things too. Maybe if someone's house is as close to his neighbor's as this one looks to be, he should butcher his animals out in the country where the animals live, and where it won't bother anyone, and bring the meat home and put it in his freezer, like everyone else does. Maybe if he doesn't have proper facilities he could take his deer or boar to one of the many, many outfits that specializes in dressing out animals and has the proper facilities in an area where it's allowed. MAYBE just maybe his neighbors have a legitimate complaint.

It's also possible the arrest and confiscation will get thrown out of court, or that it will be quietly dismissed if the man agrees not to distribute meat he butchers to quite as many people, or to change somewhat how he butchers animals.

Perhaps the most extreme violations in a gigantic commercial outfit COULD get 100,000 dollar fines, but perhaps the fine depends on different things and perhaps he gets a 100 dollar fine for leaving a bunch of guts on the sidewalk or he gets no fine at all.

It's also possible that a 'complaining neighbor' had a legitimate complaint - that animals were not put down quietly or that the practice was indeed, really disturbing the neighbors, offal not being disposed of properly, etc. For all you know, the guy has violated every health code in the book and been warned numerous times over the years.

Yes, the nice clean 'everyman' photo looks innocent and appealing but it's meant to.

You'll notice there will very very rarely be a followup story to explain how the problem was resolved, and also notice that the story is very biased. The police are storm troopers, the guy was just making hamburgers for his hungry children, blah blah blah.

People have been butchering their own animals for a long time, without bothering anyone. Maybe if this guy got in trouble, maybe, just maybe there is a reason.

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
Good points well put.

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

Quote:

 

[cluckcluck42]

I don't disagree with you on many of your points, welsummerchicks and I thank you for your po However I don't agree with this being a story to rile everybody up. This type of thing is becoming the norm, people being basically attacked for producing their own food. It is my right and your right to grow our own food, and slaughter the animals we have raised for our own consumption as well as our family and friends. If we don't stand up against this kind of thing, where will we be in 5 years? Will I have people swarm into my house, confiscating my personal property because I am giving away or selling chicken eggs? This is what I worry about when precedents like this are set. If this man is busted for killing a pig and sharing the meat, where does it end?


Of course he should do the deed at a friends farm in the country but by the looks of the picture he is definitely not in the heart of a city by any means. It is possible he is on a farm, I do not see another house in the picture or anything to indicate he is in the city. It is possible that he is, of course. I will be following this story closely and any info I find I will post. Another thing I'd like to know- did he RAISE the animal himself?? If he raised the animal himself and slaughtered it, that is different than if he bought the animal and brought it home to slaughter. Could he not have slaughtered it on the farm he bought the pig, or found a farm that would do that for him? Still- regardless of that he should be able to butcher his own meat. He is a major in the Armed Forces so thankfully this story is getting out there, I have a feeling if it was the average joe that might not be the case.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Frankly, I call baloney. Or more accurately, pork butt.

There is a LAW in that province that you can butcher all you want on your property for your family. There is no threat to one's 'way of life' or 'providing for your family'.

You can butcher for you and yours all you want. You just can't distribute the meat to others. That is the law in that province. That is the legal difference between 'providing for me and mine' and 'being a slaughterhouse'.

Here in my area, we have a company called the 'Smith Road Cattle and Livestock Company'. All the neighbors are a part of the company, everything is done 'with the law' and everyone gets rock bottom price top quality beef without ruffling a single feather or even getting near breaking a law. They've been doing it for about 20 years now. Costs them virtually nothing to keep it legal and they save an immense amount of money. Who's smarter? The law breaker going to court for flaunting a simple law or the person who figures out how to be 100% legal and do what he wants for virtually zero cost?

On the other hand...He and his church buddies at Anglican Faith decided to do this. They knew the law and that they were only supposed to distribute the meat to family members. They could have moved to almost any other province where that's NOT the law. They chose to break a law, a very well known law. Breaking a law is not a way to CHANGE a law. It is just breaking a law. If you want to change a law, lobby and get it changed. Besides, for all we know, all he had to do avoid a problem, was to pay for a fifty dollar a year license and put tile on the floor where the animals are butchered. If his desire truly was to save money then the license fee was probably a lot cheaper than going to court will be.

Would the rally-round-the-flag-boys reaction be the same if he were a Phillipino, or a Mexican or a Jamaican? What if that picture showed a Mexican man with a bunch of little kids?

No, everyone would be screaming about how he must have a filthy place and butcher the animals cruely, and must be selling it 'under the table' (no pun intended) to avoid paying taxes on income from the sales, even suggestions he was a drug dealer. Don't believe it? That's exactly what happened on another pet web site. There is a very, very different reaction depending on that.

 

[PineappleMama]

Question?? Is there a time frame involved with that law? I mean, day of slaughter you can't give (n'mind sell) meat to anyone outside your family.... or does that extend to next week... or next month? If next month you find yourself with too much in your freezer and know a family who could use some food would you have to sort through and make sure that whatever you give isn't what you killed yourself, or does that law only apply for a certain period?

Just curious, I know nothing at all about laws like this since I haven't needed to before.

I confess it was a little freaky when the guy three doors down (old house) was skinning a dear that he'd hung from a brance right over the sidewalk ... kids having to bypass that sidewalk to avoid the blood... but once done he did scour the area to within an inch of its life... so I can't complain on a "health level" and this IS Texas... deer hunting is pretty common... overall I thought it was odd, but not any worse really than me hacking up a store bought chicken... more messy bits, but boils down to the same thing. I personally would prefer a clean environment when handling food, but if he wants to risk his health that's his call.

I reckon that's what that law's about... you can choose to risk you and yours if you like, but no one else that might (because they aren't your kin) not know that you did this slaughtering yourself and possibly not in the most sanitary manner. Yeah, makes sense to me.