Section 25-3-15 - Prohibited acts; penalty.
25-3-15. Prohibited acts; penalty.
Except as provided in the Meat Inspection Act [25-3-6 to 25-3-21 NMSA 1978], it is a:
A. misdemeanor for any person to:
(1) slaughter any livestock or poultry or prepare any livestock products or poultry products for human consumption except in compliance with the provisions of the Meat Inspection Act;
(2) sell or transport any adulterated, misbranded, condemned or uninspected meats, livestock products or poultry products;
(3) falsely represent that any article has been inspected and passed or is exempted under the Meat Inspection Act or knowingly make any false statement in any certificate provided for by board regulation;
(4) sell or transport any slaughtered poultry from which the blood, feathers, feet, head or viscera have not been removed;
(5) fail to keep any records required by the Meat Inspection Act;
(6) forge any official device, mark or certificate;
(7) use, alter, deface, detach or destroy any official device, mark or certificate without authorization;
(8) fail to use or fail to detach, deface or destroy any official device, mark or certificate contrary to regulations prescribed by the board;
(9) knowingly possess any counterfeit certificate, device or label or the carcass or parts of the carcass of any animal bearing any counterfeit or improperly altered official mark;
(10) sell or transport any equine carcass or parts thereof, unless they are conspicuously marked or otherwise identified to show the kind of animal from which they were derived; or
(11) buy, sell or transport any livestock products or poultry products not intended for human food, unless they are naturally inedible by humans or are denatured or identified as required by board regulations; and
B. fourth degree felony for any person to:
(1) engage in the business of buying, selling or transporting dead, dying, disabled or diseased animals or any parts of the carcasses of any animals that died otherwise than by slaughter or buy, sell or transport any dead, dying, disabled or diseased livestock or poultry or the products of any such livestock or poultry that died otherwise than by slaughter unless in accordance with such regulations as the board may prescribe to assure that such animals or the unwholesome parts or products are prevented from being used for human food purposes; or
(2) engage in unfair trade practices, inaccurate or deceptive advertising, bait and switch selling, product misrepresentation or knowingly engage in price misrepresentation of meat, livestock products or poultry products, as defined in Subsections D and E of Section 25-3-7 NMSA 1978.