Federal lawsuit filed over euthanized sheep

By KCCI Staff

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — An Iowa animal protection organization claims multiple healthy sheep were wrongly euthanized and is now suing the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center over it.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court by the Iowa Farm Sanctuary in Johnson County. In the lawsuit, the organization claims six sheep were hurt in a crash with a semi in Missouri back in June 2023. Volunteers from the sanctuary went to the scene of the crash and took the animals to the veterinary center in Columbia, Missouri, to try and save them.

The Iowa Farm Sanctuary claims it paid $1,000 for a deposit, and says it was contacted over the next 24 hours about the treatment. The next day, the organization claims the center asked for more money for treatment and refused to provide health updates over the next seven days.

The organization then says it learned four of those sheep were euthanized the same day the center asked for more money.

KCCI has contacted the Mizzou Veterinary Health Center for comment and we are waiting to hear back.

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