Animals to be slaughtered neglected Muscoy, CA (US) Incident Date: Thursday, Jul 20, 2006 County: San Bernardino Local Map: available Disposition: Not Charged Abuser names unreleased

Case ID: 9367 Classification: Neglect / Abandonment Animal: cow, other farm animal, bird (wildlife), goat View more cases in CA (US) Login to Watch this Case

Code-enforcement officers on a routine call at a Muscoy home on July 20 were startled when they discovered a makeshift slaughterhouse straight out of a horror film - complete with meat hooks, ropes and a drainage area for blood.

Code-enforcement officials visited the property on the 1900 block of N. Macy Street in the unincorporated are of San Bernardino County after neighbors in the rural area complained about a rotting goat carcass in the yard of the home.

The smell of rotting flesh hung in the air, made worse by the blazing heat and flies. A burned trash pile lay nearby that contained animal parts, including a goat's head.

After finding evidence of a room used to slaughter animals, code-enforcement officers contacted City Attorney James F. Penman's office.

"It was a bit shocking for them all those hooks and ropes," Penman said. "This is an unusual situation this is not your run-of-the-mill code inspection.

"We don't encounter this type of situation too often."

San Bernardino Animal Control officers also arrived and found several animals, including ducks, goats, cows and a llama squeezed into a pen too small to hold them all.

The house is used as a mosque and owned by an Islamic group called Makki Masjid.

The animals were not used for ritual sacrifice or religious purposes but were slaughtered to feed local homeless and poor people every week, said Ebrahim Alhaji Ashamu, a man who identified himself as the president of Makki Masjid.

Most of the animals are sent to a facility in Chino to be slaughtered, although a few were slaughtered on the property, Ashamu said.

According to the Islamic Services of America Web site, animals that are consumed must be "Halal," meaning they "must be slaughtered according to Islamic laws in order for their meat to be suitable for consumption."

The Web site also notes that the blood of the animal is not to be consumed so the animal is generally drained of blood.

Ashamu said he was not following any religious practices in slaughtering the animals.

"We wanted to determine if they were using the animals for any religious purposes but they say they aren't," Penman said. "That would have an impact on what municipal codes we would be enforcing." Ashamu was also cited for electrical-code violations and given a 24-hour abatement notice to remove several animals from the property.

The San Bernardino County Health Department is also inspecting the property, and animal-control officers will determine if the conditions there are safe and healthy for the animals, two of which were injured. One goat had a broken leg and a duck's leg was tied by a rope.

The goat carcass was turned over to animal-control officers, who will determine how it died.

It did not appear to have been slaughtered, Penman said.

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San Berndadino Sun - July 21, 2006

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