For 30 years, a Nipomo man slaughtered pigs on his rural property and sold the meat to customers, but he had no idea what he was doing was against the law.

Now the alleged illegal pig-slaughtering operation in Nipomo has been shut down and its owner, former Santa Maria High School teacher Artxezin Mariscal Amezcua, has been charged in San Luis Obispo Superior Court with violating food sanitation and licensing laws.

Amezcua, 62, told investigators with the California Department of Food and Agriculture that he slaughtered about 30 pigs per month for customers, according to a report conducted by the agency.

The agency inspected the site on the 1400 block of Camino Caballo near the intersection with Sundale Way in February.

Investigators allege that the outdoor slaughter area had “numerous rodents, flies and livestock fecal/ urine waste material on the ground where he illegally slaughters the animals.”

The wood chopping blocks and cutting instruments also weren’t sanitized, the report stated, and dried blood and animal hair had been left on the equipment.

In addition, an unfenced, 10-foot-deep drainage pit filled with blood and stagnant water was unsafe for children to be playing nearby, investigators said.

Amezcua told investigators he did “not know that we have to be licensed by the state or federal agencies to slaughter and sell meat,” the report states. He said he didn’t advertise and customers knew about him through “word of mouth.”

“We were told several years ago by a county official that it was ‘OK’ to slaughter animals,” Amezcua told investigators, according to the report.

Amezcua said he purchased pigs from sellers in Texas and Oklahoma for 85 cents to $1 per pound and sold the pigs for $1.10 per pound, while charging $40 to $45 to slaughter the animals.

The retired teacher said his family shot the pigs with a .22-caliber gun and then cut the jugular vein of their throats.

“I informed Mr. Amezcua that he cannot slaughter any animals on his property anymore,” stated Rhett Dunn, Agriculture Department senior special investigator.

The way the meat was handled risked the formation of bacteria that could make his “customers sick or potentially die,” the report states. Josh Eddy, a spokesman for the Department of Food and Agriculture, said his agency conducted an investigation into the property from May 2011 to February, which is when the inspection occurred.

A call to the Amezcua residence for comment was not returned Friday afternoon.

Amezcua is scheduled to return to court before Judge Teresa Estrada-Mullaney on July 31 for a trial setting conference.

Pending charges

Artxezin Mariscal Amezcua pleaded not guilty on May 1 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court to five violations of state Food and Agriculture Code. The charges are the following: unlawful slaughter and preparation of livestock; having an unlicensed operation; two counts of operating an unclean establishment; and operating a meat processing establishment after failing to file an application.

EARLIER STORY: A former Santa Maria High School teacher has been accused of illegally slaughtering pigs as part of an alleged unlawful business on his property in Nipomo.

Artxezin Mariscal Amezcua, 62, told investigators with the California Department of Food and Agriculture that he slaughtered about 30 pigs per month for customers, according to a report conducted by the agency.

The agency inspected his property on the 1400 block of Camino Caballo in Nipomo, which he told investigators that his family purchased in 1959.

Amezcua told investigators that he did “not know that we have to be licensed by the state or federal agencies to slaughter and sell meat,” the report states.

“We were told several years ago by a county official that it was ‘ok’ to slaughter animals,” Amezcua told investigators, according to the report.

Amezcu pleaded not guilty May 1 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court to five violations of state Food and Agriculture code: unlawful slaughter and preparation of livestock, having an unlicensed operation, two counts of operating an unclean establishment, and operating after failing to file an application, all misdemeanors.

Investigators said that the outdoor slaughter area had “numerous rodents, flies, and livestock fecal/urine waste material on the ground where he illegally slaughters the animals.”

The wood chopping blocks and cutting instruments also weren’t sanitized, the report stated, and the equipment had dried blood and animal hair on them.

“Failure to properly sanitize equipment used in slaughter activities could result in serious illness or death,” the report states.

In addition, an unfenced 10-foot deep drainage pit filled with blood and stagnant water was unsafe for children to be playing nearby, investigators said.

Amezcua is scheduled to return to court July 31 for a trial-setting conference.

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