Put Your Hands Up And Drop That Pork
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You might be a criminal and not even know it. That’s what happened to Mark Tijssen, Brampton, Ontario, in November, 2009. He butchered a hog with a friend, who then took 40 lbs. of the meat home with him. Tijssen’s farm was raided soon after by armed police officers in 6 vehicles with lights flashing. They searched the property thoroughly and carried off meat-handling equipment. Tijssen was charged with operating an unlicensed slaughterhouse – even though he butchered just the one hog.
It sounds crazy but that’s exactly what happened. In Canada, it’s perfectly legal to butcher your own hog and serve it to your immediate family in your own home. What’s not legal is letting a friend or neighbor take butchered meat off your property, even if you’re not selling it to them. That’s due to a Food Safety law that quietly went into effect in 2005.
Tijssen and his neighbor had simply decided to butcher a hog together, as Tijssen’s family has done for generations. A conservation officer got wind of the “plan” and staked out Tijssen’s farm in a nearby treehouse for 5 days, taking photos of all comings and goings. After the raid on his property, Tijssen was offered the chance to settle the crime for a fine of $100,000. When it became obvious that Tijssen, who is a major in the Canadian Armed Forces, was not going to just roll over and pay the fine, government prosecutors eventually lowered the fine to a nominal $1,000. He still refused and, after two years and 15 court hearings, the government withdrew the charges on Dec. 6, 2011. They notified Tijssen in a letter dropped off on his doorstep, which included an apology. Tijssen was left holding the bag on legal expenses but he told FARM SHOW he had tremendous support from the Canadian Constitution Foundation, which aided him in his fight against the government regulators (www.canadianconstitutionfoundation.ca).
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Put Your Hands Up And Drop That Pork HOG EQUIPMENT & IDEAS You might be a criminal and not even know it That’s what happened to Mark Tijssen Brampton Ontario in November 2009 He butchered a hog with a friend who then took 40 lbs of the meat home with him Tijssen’s farm was raided soon after by armed police officers in 6 vehicles with lights flashing They searched the property thoroughly and carried off meat-handling equipment Tijssen was charged with operating an unlicensed slaughterhouse – even though he butchered just the one hog It sounds crazy but that’s exactly what happened In Canada it’s perfectly legal to butcher your own hog and serve it to your immediate family in your own home What’s not legal is letting a friend or neighbor take butchered meat off your property even if you’re not selling it to them That’s due to a Food Safety law that quietly went into effect in 2005 Tijssen and his neighbor had simply decided to butcher a hog together as Tijssen’s family has done for generations A conservation officer got wind of the “plan” and staked out Tijssen’s farm in a nearby treehouse for 5 days taking photos of all comings and goings After the raid on his property Tijssen was offered the chance to settle the crime for a fine of $100 000 When it became obvious that Tijssen who is a major in the Canadian Armed Forces was not going to just roll over and pay the fine government prosecutors eventually lowered the fine to a nominal $1 000 He still refused and after two years and 15 court hearings the government withdrew the charges on Dec 6 2011 They notified Tijssen in a letter dropped off on his doorstep which included an apology Tijssen was left holding the bag on legal expenses but he told FARM SHOW he had tremendous support from the Canadian Constitution Foundation which aided him in his fight against the government regulators www canadianconstitutionfoundation ca
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