February 27, 2001
Source: New York Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-02-27/News_and_Views/Crime_File/a-101321.asp
On February 27, 2001, the New York Daily News reported that "six members of a religion that routinely practices animal sacrifice face animal cruelty charges for slaughtering a pig late Sunday at the East Islip Marina... Police said the suspects are members of Ifism, which they believe may be an offshoot of Santeria. The Santeria religion, which counts between 2 million and 5 million U.S. members, combines the beliefs of the Yoruba people who were brought as slaves from Africa to Cuba with Catholicism."