![\"Cows](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WDN-L-SLAUGHTERHOUSE-03.jpg\")
Cows in a pen at Manning Beef at Pico Rivera before the company closed its doors in Oct.. Animal Outlook, an animal rights group, is asking supporters to email Force10 Partners, which is facilitating the sale of the property, and urge it not to replace one slaughterhouse with another. (Photo courtesy of Animal Outlook)<\/p>\n
Animal protection advocates are celebrating the closure of Manning Beef in Pico Rivera, the last cattle slaughterhouse in Los Angeles county limits. It marks what they said is a significant victory for animals, workers, and the nearby community.<\/p>\n
Ben Williamson, executive director of Animal Outlook, said the closure, evinced by a disconnected phone line and no activity on the premises for weeks, follows their nonprofit\u2019s undercover investigation that revealed what the group calls the most severe case of animal cruelty in its 30-year history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis closure represents justice for the countless animals who suffered unimaginable cruelty at Manning Beef,\u201d he said. \u201cOur investigation revealed systematic torture that shocked even our most experienced investigators, The community spoke loudly and clearly \u2014 this kind of cruelty has no place in Los Angeles. Now we must ensure this property never again becomes a site of animal suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Liberty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WDN-L-SLAUGHTERHOUSE-02.jpg\")
Liberty and Indigo, a mother-daughter duo, were rescued by actor Joaquin Phoenix from Manning Beef in 2020 and now live at Farm Sanctuary in Acton. (Photo courtesy of Farm Sanctuary)<\/p>\n
Williamson said Animal Outlook is launching a public campaign urging Force10 Partners, the investment firm representing Manning Beef\u2019s bankruptcy proceedings, not to sell the property to any company that intends to use it for meat processing or animal slaughtering. It is directing supporters to email the company and voice their opinions.<\/p>\n
\u201cForce10 Partners has the power to discontinue this cycle of cruelty and ensure that Pico Rivera never again hosts industrial animal slaughter,\u201d Williamson said.<\/p>\n
Force10 Partners did not respond to emails asking for its response to the campaign. Calls to Manning Beef did not go through.<\/p>\n
Steve Carmona, Pico Rivera\u2019s city manager, said the City Council is aware of Manning Beef\u2019s recent bankruptcy filing and are monitoring the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the property transitions to its next chapter, our priority is ensuring that any future use aligns with Pico Rivera\u2019s long-term goals, community values, and the quality-of-life standards our residents expect. We are committed to working with all parties to support a positive and compatible outcome for our city,\u201d Carmona said.<\/p>\n
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![\"Liberty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WDN-L-SLAUGHTERHOUSE-01.jpg\")
Liberty the Cow gave birth to her calf Indigo at Manning Beef in Pico Rivera in 2020. The two were later rescued and found a home at Farm Sanctuary in Acton. (Photo courtesy of Farm Sanctuary)<\/p>\n
Manning Beef, founded in 1920, had accumulated 61 humane handling violations between 2018 and 2024, for allegedly starving animals, shocking them excessively and beating them in the face, according to Animal Outlook.\u00a0The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suspended the company multiple times, according to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service website, but Williamson said it continued to supply federal child nutrition programs until its closure.<\/p>\n
The evidence Animal Outlook\u2019s undercover investigator gathered while working at Manning Beef for two separate months in 2024 showed the violations were not isolated incidents but rather systemic abuses ingrained in the company\u2019s practices, \u201cfrom workers to supervisors to corporate leadership, this culture of cruelty pervaded every level of the operation,\u201d Williamson said.<\/p>\n
The company, which as of September, reportedly employed nearly 30 people, has seen its share of controversy in recent years.<\/p>\n
In 2020, actor Joaquin Phoenix spoke with Anthony DiMaria, owner of Manning Beef, before rescuing a mother cow named Liberty and her newborn calf Indigo. Phoenix had won an Academy Award for Best Actor the night before and spoke about animal farming and how people can be compassionate toward all sentient beings.<\/p>\n
In 2021, 41 cows escaped<\/a> from Manning Beef and ran through the streets of Pico Rivera and South El Monte, injuring<\/a> at least one person. Two of these animals were rescued<\/a> by Hollywood songwriter Dianne Warren. The rest were slaughtered<\/a> for meat.<\/p>\n