The Council listens as members of the community speak during a Pico Rivera City Council Meeting asking that a conditional use permit be revoked from Manning Beef on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Pico Rivera’s planning commission revoked a conditional-use permit issued to the bankrupt Manning Beef slaughterhouse on Monday, June 22, quelling an attempt to reopen the controversial facility, known as the last of its kind in Los Angeles County.
The hearing before the five-member commission brought together Pico Rivera residents, animal advocates, attorneys for the court-appointed third party preserving the company’s assets, and Salvatore DiMaria, longtime owner of the beleaguered business, which, until it closed in August 2025, was the remaining cow slaughterhouse in the county.
Despite objections from attorneys for David Singleton, a neutral third-party appointed by the Los Angeles Superior Court to preserve the property, the commission, led by Tommy Elisaldez, unanimously adopted the resolution to permanently revoke Manning Beef’s conditional-use permit.
The commission pushed back on the basis that the 3.93-acre property has been abandoned for more than six months, violating the city’s municipal code.
Commissioner Justin Schmidt submitted the motion, which was seconded by vice chair Esther Celiz.
Owner of Manning Beef, Salvatore Di Maria, speaks during a Pico Rivera City Council Meeting asking that a conditional use permit be not be revoked from his company on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
People react after the Pico Rivera City Council voted to revoke a conditional use permit from Manning Beef on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the community spoke during a Pico Rivera City Council Meeting asking that a conditional use permit be revoked from Manning Beef on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Scott David, Director of investigations for Animal Outlook, speaks during a Pico Rivera City Council Meeting asking that a conditional use permit be revoked from Manning Beef on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the community celebrate after the Pico Rivera City Council revoked a conditional use permit from Manning Beef on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
People opposed to Manning Beef celebrate outside the Pico Rivera City Council Meeting after a conditional use permit was revoked from the company, as the owner, wearing a blue shirt, leaves the building doorway on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Pico Rivera resident Mark Anthony Ramos speaks to the City Council Meeting asking that a conditional use permit be revoked from Manning Beef on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Scott David, Director of investigations for Animal Outlook, speaks during a Pico Rivera City Council Meeting asking that a conditional use permit be revoked from Manning Beef on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Vice Chairperson Esther Celia listens to members of the community speak during a Pico Rivera City Council Meeting asking that a conditional use permit be revoked from Manning Beef on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
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Owner of Manning Beef, Salvatore Di Maria, speaks during a Pico Rivera City Council Meeting asking that a conditional use permit be not be revoked from his company on June 22, 2026 in Pico Rivera CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
“Tonight’s decision by the planning commission we think is a huge victory for animals and for the community,” said Scott David, director of investigations for Animal Outlook, which helped uncover violations at the facility. “After being in operation for basically a century, L.A’.s last cow slaughterhouse will now not reopen. It’s a real sign of what communities can do when they stand together. It’s a facility which we exposed through our investigation and it’s closed for good now, and that’s something I think is worth celebrating.”
Among the 13 people who spoke during the hearing were Irma Verdugo and Mark Anthony Ramos, who live near the facility.
Verdugo said she and her husband are grateful for the months of peace they have had since the business went bankrupt in 2025.
“I am so grateful it is shut down for right now,” Verdugo said. “I live very, very close by to the facility and the smell, the flies, the bones that you see stuck on the chute that goes into the truck, it was horrible.”
Verdugo said for three years, she and her husband couldn’t sit in their backyard without horse flies poking them.
“We’ve been at peace for the last six months, knowing they’re not poking us, and free from the smell, and seeing the bones with the meat on there and blood,” she added. “And the machinery running at 2, 3, 4 in the morning. It’s not fair to the residents. This is our city too.”
Ramos said he and his family have just moved into the neighborhood and are appalled the slaughterhouse could be permitted to reopen.
Joshua Castillo, attorney for Singleton, the receiver, said Pico Rivera is not authorized to revoke the permit and that the move would diminish assets the receiver is obliged to preserve and protect.
“On June 5, 2026, the court entered an order that affirmatively barred third parties, including the city, from engaging in any acts of self-help or interfering with the receiver’s administration of the receivership estate, including the property, without first securing permission from the court,” Castillo said. “That injunction in the receiver’s view bars the city from taking the action that it’s decided to take today.”
Castillo said Singleton would be obliged to alert the Los Angeles Superior Court about the commission’s decision and ask for further instruction to restore the status quo.
City Attorney Araceli Almazan countered these arguments and assured the commission that their job is “not to take away a right but to determine whether the conditional-use permit was abandoned, and based on the information that has been provided, it was abandoned.”
Almazan and city staff said court filings confirmed operations at Manning Beef had ceased on Oct. 2, 2025, with USDA officials deeming it nonoperational on Aug. 26.
The court-appointed receiver assumed control of the property on Feb. 20, 2026, and began working with the city to “preserve, maintain, market and potentially sell the property.” The city, however, maintained that the slaughterhouse use had been discontinued for a period exceeding time permitted under the Pico Rivera Municipal Code at the time the receive was appointed.
Manning Beef owner DiMaria said he is trying to reopen and can hire back 200 workers immediately, adding that over 14 years, the company had 5,000 local workers on its payroll. Ill health caused him to fall behind on $25 million in payments, including for livestock purchases, adding the volatile cattle industry is also to blame. But DiMaria said he has continued doing business.
“Between 2011 and 2025, I am proud to say we did $1 billion in sales,” DiMaria said. “I have no ill feelings toward the advocates that are here asking for you to shut me down. Everybody has their own belief. My comment is, these animals were being raised for slaughter and everybody eats beef. So I’m going to leave it at that. I have no ill feelings, and I understand their view.”
View of the Manning Beef company, currently closed, in Pico Rivera on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
View of the Manning Beef company, currently closed, in Pico Rivera on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
View of the Manning Beef company, currently closed, in Pico Rivera on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
View of the Manning Beef company, currently closed, in Pico Rivera on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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View of the Manning Beef company, currently closed, in Pico Rivera on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
E.B. Manning Company was a feed store in 1934. It expanded to become an animal slaughterhouse and meat processing facility in 1943. DiMaria took over ownership in 2011.
He famously welcomed Joaquin Phoenix to the facility in 2020, a day after the actor won an Oscar for “Joker” in which he deplored the cruel practices of the dairy and meat industry. DiMaria allowed Phoenix to rescue a mother and her calf, later named Liberty and Indigo, who were relocated to Farm Sanctuary in Acton.
In 2020, the USDA suspended inspections at Manning Beef due to “an egregious act of inhumane handling of animals.” In 2022, the company was again suspended for “a trend of repetitive noncompliance” with stunning requirements
In 2024, an Animal Outlook undercover investigation at the Manning Beef facility exposed conditions inside the slaughterhouse and led to the USDA citing the facility for excessive stunning of a downed cow.
A review of USDA records also showed that Manning Beef racked up 61 violations between 2018 and 2025, for violations of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act for starving animals, shocking them excessively, and beating them in the face, according to Williamson of Animal Outlook.
Veterinarian Crystal Heath, founder of the nonprofit Our Honor in Los Angeles, said she has spent years investigating the plant and talking to neighbors.
“The public should not be asked to trust the cattle industry when a facility with this kind of record is allowed to continue operating,” Heath said.
“This is a pivotal moment for Pico Rivera and for animal protection in Los Angeles County,” Williamson said. “The city has an opportunity to ensure this 100-year-old business never again operates as a place of animal suffering and instead the property becomes an asset that truly benefits the community.”
Ellen Dent, executive director of Animal Alliance Network, has held vigils outside of Manning Beef and also held weekly vigils outside the Farmer John meat-packing plant in Vernon, until it closed and moved out of state in 2023:
“We have faith that with enough support from the public that the city of Pico Rivera will be able to move on with plans that will not involve continuing to slaughter animals at this location,” Dent said. “We hope that instead this location will be transformed into a space for the community to thrive in.”
In January, Mayor Gustavo Camachonew said the city will explore acquiring the property directly or, if the site is purchased by another party, will work closely with the new owners to promote a future use that reflects community values and long-term public benefit.
“Our priority is to ensure that whatever comes next truly benefits our residents, protects public health, and aligns with our values as a city,” Camacho said.