They gathered to celebrate a Muslim holiday. Then an animal rights group found their event

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Set us as preferred Southern Californian restaurateur Rafi Khan had a clear vision for a new food outpost on a 20-acre ranch he leased in Riverside County earlier this year.Bright vintage rugs laid over dusty ground.Smoky, charcoal-grilled meats and fragrant wok-cooked tomato curries sizzling over an open flame.

Goats and sheep grazing across the way.The concept for the pop-up selling Karachi highway-style barbecue as well as tacos made with halal meat garnered buzz on social media, and some 250 people gathered beneath string lights — traveling from as far as San Diego and San José — to visit Shahnawaz Ranch in Perris in the Inland Empire for its opening night this summer.“People were loving it,” Khan said.But Khan’s plans began to fall apart in late June when national animal advocacy organization Animal Outlook lodged allegations with the U.S.

Department of Agriculture that livestock had been inhumanely slaughtered during a May event at Shahnawaz Ranch for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, and that the operation had sold the meat without required federal inspection.And on July 18, during the pop-up’s opening weekend, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department visited the site and issued a cease-and-desist order noting that the operation did not have the proper permits to operate a food business and entertainment venue, after neighbors made complaints of a large event the previous night and of animals being slaughtered.The USDA said in an emailed statement that it became aware of the allegations regarding Shahnawaz Ranch in mid-July and had opened an investigation.The agency said, because of the ongoing investigation, it could not provide further details.

Khan, who also operates a combination dine-in spot and a butchery in Corona, as well as a long-standing beloved restaurant serving tandoori kebabs and other dis...