For Immediate Release
May 14, 2007

SCARBOROUGH COMPANY CONVICTED FOR BUYING CATTLE WITHOUT A LICENCE

BARRIE - A Scarborough man and his company have been convicted for buying cattle, as a livestock dealer, without a licence. The charges arose from an investigation by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).

On May 7, 2007, Mostapha Elmnini and Alzahraa Halal Meat Inc. pleaded guilty in the Provincial Offences Court in Barrie, to two counts under the Livestock and Livestock Products Act (LLPA). The court heard that an investigation conducted by MNR investigators revealed that Elmnini and his company had been buying cattle as a livestock dealer at the Ontario Stockyards Inc. near Cookstown, but were not licensed to buy livestock under the LLPA. The offences occurred between October 1, 2006 and February 28, 2007.

Justice of the Peace Radke sentenced Alzahraa Halal Meat Inc. to a fine of $2,000, plus a victim fine surcharge of $500 for count one and granted Elmnini a suspended sentence for count two. Alzahraa Halal Meat Inc. has become licensed to buy and sell cattle since February 2007.

In Ontario, all livestock dealers (abattoirs, associations, livestock auction markets, country dealers and packing plants) are required to be licensed under the LLPA. The Act is administered by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) with investigative and prosecution services provided by MNR.

Anyone with information regarding violations of provincial food and inspection legislation is asked to contact Jim Cushing, OMAFRA compliance and enforcement manager at (519) 826-4391 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)

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Contacts:
Gwen McBride
OMAFRA
(519) 826-3112

Rodger Dunlop
MNR
(519) 827-6726