California City Moves to Acquire Notorious Slaughterhouse Site
The small Californian city of Pico Rivera has unveiled an ambitious plan to purchase Los Angeles's infamous Manning Beef slaughterhouse facility, with the explicit goal of preventing it from ever operating as an animal processing plant again. This strategic intervention aims to transform a site associated with significant controversy into a positive community asset.
Strategic Acquisition Plan Announced
Pico Rivera, a municipality with approximately 60,000 residents, formally announced its intention on Tuesday to participate in Wednesday's auction for the Manning Beef Company property. The 3.74-acre meat-processing facility, located within Los Angeles County, has become notorious for multiple serious incidents and regulatory violations over recent years.
City Manager Steve Carmona confirmed the municipality's interest in acquiring the property outright or potentially collaborating with a developer who shares their vision for the site's future. 'Hopefully either we purchase it outright, or, at the end of the day, if we can work with another developer who wants to come in and share our same vision,' Carmona explained to the Los Angeles Times.
Proposed Transformations for Controversial Site
The city envisions several potential uses for the property should their acquisition prove successful. Carmona suggested the site could be repurposed for much-needed affordable housing, transformed into public open space for community enjoyment, or potentially developed into a facility dedicated to producing plant-based food alternatives.
While the opening bid for the slaughterhouse site has been set at $7 million according to Carmona, he did not disclose the specific amount Pico Rivera is prepared to offer. However, he confirmed that the city has strategically allocated funding for real estate acquisitions and considers this property an ideal investment opportunity for community benefit.
History of Violations and Public Opposition
Manning Beef's permanent closure in late 2025 followed years of accumulating United States Department of Agriculture violations related to inhumane animal treatment and repetitive non-compliance issues. The facility first captured national attention in 2021 when three dozen cows escaped and stampeded through the surrounding neighborhood, creating a dramatic spectacle that highlighted operational concerns.
Ben Williamson, executive director of advocacy group Animal Outlook which conducted undercover investigations at the facility, strongly supports Pico Rivera's mission. 'This has been an issue for the animal protection community for about 10 years. We don't want a slaughterhouse in Los Angeles County,' Williamson told the newspaper.
He warned that any attempt to purchase the property for continued animal slaughter would face substantial public opposition, including regular protests and vigils from concerned citizens and advocacy groups.
Documented Animal Welfare Concerns
Animal Outlook's investigations revealed troubling practices at the facility. Between 2018 and 2024, Manning Beef accumulated 61 humane-handling violations for allegedly starving animals, beating them, and administering excessive electrical shocks.
An undercover worker placed at the facility from October to December 2024 documented animals appearing conscious as they proceeded to slaughter. In one particularly distressing incident, a cow with a physical disability reportedly received electrical shocks twenty times.
The USDA suspended the facility in 2022 after inspectors witnessed a cow being hoisted during slaughter while still breathing, following failed stunning attempts that inspectors described as part of 'a trend of repetitive noncompliance.'
Additional Compliance Issues and Celebrity Involvement
Further noncompliance records from 2023 reviewed by the LA Times revealed additional concerns including leaky ceilings, live insects on the kill floor, unsanitary conditions, and operational malfunctions.
The facility's history intersects with celebrity activism, most notably involving actor Joaquin Phoenix. In 2020, Phoenix was filmed rescuing a cow and her calf from Manning Beef, just one day after delivering an impassioned animal rights advocacy speech during his Best Actor Oscar acceptance for Joker.
Phoenix has commended Pico Rivera's efforts to permanently end the slaughterhouse's operations. 'This is our moment to show that Pico Rivera chooses progress over violence,' he stated. 'That communities can heal, and that even where suffering once reigned, compassion can flourish.'
The city's proposed acquisition represents a significant step toward transforming a site of controversy into one of community renewal, addressing both animal welfare concerns and local development needs through strategic municipal action.
