On 15th October 2025, Manning Beef, LLC, Los Angeles’ last remaining cow slaughterhouse, permanently shut its doors following what campaigners have described as the most severe cruelty case in recent history. The Pico Rivera facility, which had operated since the 1920s and was already undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, ceased operations after Animal Outlook released shocking footage from an undercover investigation.
The closure represents a notable victory for animals, local residents, and workers, with Los Angeles now joining other major metropolitan areas in abolishing industrial-scale cattle slaughter within its borders. Manning Beef, notorious for its history of controversy and cruelty, had accumulated 61 humane handling violations between 2018 and 2024. Among the documented abuses were cases of cows being butchered while showing clear signs of pain, a cow stabbed in the head and continuing to move, a downed dairy cow shocked more than 20 times with a cattle prod, and piles of unborn calf foetuses from pregnant cows slaughtered at the facility. These acts led to multiple suspensions by the USDA, with one citing “an egregious act of inhumane handling of animals” in 2020.
Ben Williamson, Executive Director of Animal Outlook, said, “This closure represents justice for the countless animals who suffered unimaginable cruelty at Manning Beef…Our investigation revealed systematic torture that shocked even our most experienced investigators. The community spoke loudly and clearly — this kind of cruelty has no place in Los Angeles. Now we must ensure this property never again becomes a site of animal suffering.”
Animal Outlook, a national animal protection nonprofit, has launched a campaign urging Force10 Partners, the bankruptcy agent overseeing the site, not to sell the property to another slaughterhouse operator. As Williamson added, “Force10 Partners has the power to discontinue this cycle of cruelty and ensure that Pico Rivera never again hosts industrial animal slaughter…We’re calling on them to act responsibly and respect the clear wishes of the Los Angeles community by refusing to sell this property to another slaughterhouse operator.”The closure came after activists, local residents, and celebrities had campaigned for years, with vigils held outside the facility since 2017. Recent high-profile incidents, such as the 2021 escape of 40 cows and the surrender of animals to figures like Joaquin Phoenix and Diane Warren, brought national attention to Manning Beef.
