2 men plead guilty for illegal slaughter of lambs, obstructing inspector at south London facility

A lone sheep surrounded by other sheep looks at the camera in this generic image. (Source: Getty)

Two men have pled guilty for illegally slaughtering nearly two dozen lambs and then obstructing an inspector while disposing of the carcasses early last year.

According to a news release from the province, two compliance and advisory officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness attended Al Barakah Halal Meat and Chicken Inc., located at 2652 Scotland Drive in London, to conduct a compliance inspection on Feb. 12, 2025.

During the inspection, the officers located 20 uninspected lamb carcasses hanging behind a false wall.

The province says none of the carcasses bore a stamp from a federally or provincially licensed meat plant, nor did they display any visual references indicating they had been inspected before or after slaughter at a licensed plant.

The 20 lamb carcasses were placed under a detention order and were voluntarily disposed of the following day by one of the workers under ministry supervision.

During the disposal process, the province says a second worker obstructed an inspector by attempting to hide one of the carcasses, which was subsequently located by inspectors.

Both men pled guilty on March 17 at the London Provincial Offences Court.

The first worker received a $5,000 fine for operating a meat plant without a licence and a $1,250 victim fine surcharge.

The second worker received a $1,000 fine for obstructing an inspector, plus a $125 victim fine surcharge.

Provincially licensed slaughter plants have inspectors on site to ensure animals are fit for slaughter and safe for human consumption. All carcasses deemed safe for consumption at provincially licensed meat plants are stamped with a provincial inspection legend that includes the licensed plant number for traceability purposes.