Students Witness Slaughter of Steer

The slaughter of a steer Thursday at a private school in Brea drew a dozen protesters and may have violated city laws, but a campus employee defended it as an educational demonstration.

Many of the 150 students in kindergarten through 12th grade at Carbon Canyon Christian School observed the slaughter of the 1,100-pound animal, said Paul Schaner, a butcher hired by the school several weeks ago.

“They all had permission from their parents to be there,” Schaner said, “and it was a great educational process. It’s part of their education to see where meat comes from. You can study it in books, but when I showed it to them right there on the ground it was very educational.”

Christine Lay, a school secretary, also said the 2-year-old animal, T-Bone, was raised on campus and that the slaughter was a valuable learning experience for the students. “They were wide-eyed and amazed,” she said. “They said, ‘Wow! This is where hamburger comes from.’ Some said, ‘I can handle this. I can be a doctor.’ It was a very positive farm-type experience.”

Schaner said he used a stun gun to kill the animal, then skinned and gutted it. He will cut up the carcass at his shop, he said, then return the meat to the school.

Brea police were summoned after protesters tried to block Schaner’s truck from the campus. “We told them they weren’t allowed to do that,” said Police Lt. Bill Hutchinson, “and they moved on. They just wanted to make their point, they made it, and everybody went on their way. The reality is that this happens at various campuses around the county. I personally witnessed it when I went to high school here. Our steaks and hamburgers don’t get to the table by magic.”

However, animal-rights activists expressed dismay.

“We find this disgusting,” said Lacey Levitt, campaign director of Last Chance for Animals, a Los Angeles-based animal protection organization. “I think school officials should be encouraging children to be kind to animals, not to kill them.”

Anjali Heble, 15, a student at nearby Brea Olinda High School, helped organize the protest after learning from a friend who attends Carbon Canyon Christian that the animal was to be slaughtered.

“We feel that it was really unnecessary and cruel,” she said. “I feel that it’s wrong to do that in front of all those kids. I feel horrible about it.”

School officials did not return phone calls Thursday seeking comment.

City authorities said the school may have violated several city ordinances.

“The zoning at that property doesn’t provide at all for the keeping or slaughtering of livestock,” said David Crabtree, Brea’s city planner. “Our code-enforcement division will definitely be following up with an investigation.”

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Times wire services contributed to this report.