The legislature has approved a bill to make it clear that when the State of Iowa seizes abandoned animals, the state owns the livestock. Last September, the state took over the care of one-point-three million chickens after the owners of Pure Prairie Poultry in Charles City declared bankruptcy. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says after several weeks, the State of Iowa went to the bankruptcy court with a plan to have the broiler chickens processed.
Other Pure Prairie Poultry creditors objected, arguing over ownership of the birds, and the chickens were euthanized.
The bill ensures the state of Iowa will hold the ownership title to seized livestock. Naig says the state has long had the authority to get a court order to take custody of abandoned animals, but it’s Naig says rarely used. In the case of Pure Prairie Poultry, the State of Iowa spent $2 million on feed and about $300,000 to euthanize the chickens.
