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KIMESVILLE — Last week, Henry "Skip" Neese sold more than a dozen sheep and goats that were then slaughtered on his property, he said.

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People started coming to him years ago looking for a place to slaughter animals according to their religious customs, he said. He doesn't see a problem with selling them animals and providing that place. After all, he said he's not doing the slaughtering so he's not breaking any laws.

State officials disagree. They argue in a recent lawsuit filed in Guilford County Superior Court that Neese and his wife, Patricia, are illegally operating an unlicensed and uninspected slaughterhouse on their 50-acre Kimesville farm. Skip and Patricia Neese are not related to the Neese sausage family.

Herds of sheep and goats, and a smattering of llamas and alpacas wander the fenced pastures of the Neese farm. And of course, there are mules.

Skip Neese hosts the annual Mule-A-Rama. The event brings visitors from eight states and raises money for hospice.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services filed a temporary restraining order on March 26, asking the courts to prevent the Neeses from operating a slaughterhouse. The state alleges the Neeses have ignored repeated warnings. Court records indicate the meat and poultry division cited the Neeses for slaughtering and meat processing as early as 2001.

In 2004, the state entered a settlement agreement with the Neeses that included a provision that a $25,000 civil penalty would not be imposed unless the Neeses violated state laws again, court records show.

That penalty is now due, the state argued in court filings.

Donald Delozier, director of the department's meat and poultry division, said he could not discuss the Neese case.

The state gets complaints all the time of potential sites of illegal slaughter or processing of meat, he said.

When that happens, the state first sends warning letters.

"In most cases, yes, that takes care of the problem," Delozier said.

"Honestly speaking, a lot of people just don't know (the law)."

Repeated warnings can lead to fines and court action.

The state has two cases involving slaughterhouses at the fine level and two at the court level now, Delozier said.

Unlicensed and uninspected slaughterhouses concern state officials because of the potential to spread illnesses.

"There's no controlled sanitation whatsoever," Delozier said.

Inspectors said that during visits to the Neese farm on Dec. 19 and 20 they found violations, such as:

l dead goats with their throats slashed on the floor of one building,

l no apparent means of rendering animals insensible to pain before being slaughtered, and

l animal carcasses that were covered in fecal matter, hair and dirt while being processed.

There are large, licensed slaughterhouses in Charlotte and Siler City where families can go to slaughter animals according to their religious beliefs, Delozier said.

He was unaware of any in the Triad.

For some immigrants, slaughtering their own animals is part of religious beliefs or family custom, said Mark Sills, executive director of FaithAction International House.

However, Sills has had complaints by immigrants of a lack of places where families can go to slaughter animals.

Neese said he feels the state is harassing him. He said state officials staked out his place during a Muslim holy period and bothered customers who were trying to follow their religious customs.

"I started out doing it to help people," he says. "They don't have anywhere else to slaughter."

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com