Investigations

THS Investigates Rogue Tannery

	Sheep pelts in back of trailer
	Click on the “Play” button above to see a video of the sheep pelts in the tannery.
	This video can also be viewed directly on YouTube

The Toronto Humane Society, local police, public health officials and the Ministry of Natural Resources are investigating the discovery of more than 100 sheep carcasses found in a trailer parked behind an apartment building on George Street in downtown Toronto Saturday morning (February 24, 2007).

Responding to calls from area residents who were initially alarmed by the overwhelming stench of rotting carcasses and subsequently noticed dozens of sheep hooves and various sheep body parts strewn about the trailer, police assessed the scene, determined the potential for animal cruelty charges, and contacted The Toronto Humane Society to join the investigation.

As the investigation unfolded, it became evident that the animals had been slaughtered and partially processed in another location. That suspicion was confirmed when the trailer’s owner, Frank Mancini, arrived on the scene. According to Mancini, he had been contracted by a Hamilton-based company to dispose of the rotting remains of the slaughtered sheep, but had not yet found a suitable location.

But the presence of several bags of salt and the fact that many of the carcasses had been skinned led the investigators to suspect that Mancini was running a hide-curing operation in a residential neighbourhood.

“It looks like this person has been tanning the hides as a way to make money,” noted Tre Smith, Senior Cruelty Investigator for the Toronto Humane Society. “But he’s doing so in a trailer in full view of anyone living in the apartment buildings nearby. I couldn’t imagine being a parent in the area and having my kids see this.”

In addition to the alarming scene in the trailer, investigators searched an abandoned building nearby where they found evidence that several more sheep carcasses had been processed. “We found salt and hides and hooves and skeletal remains in the building,” explains THS investigator Smith. “It seems the person has been using this derelict building as an unlicensed tannery.”

The Toronto Humane Society and the Ministry of Natural Resources continue to investigate.

Close up of pelts in back of trailer		View of pelts curing through warehouse window
Owner with police officers		Sheep pelts curing in warehouse

[Back to Rescue Updates]