1.3 million hens are killed by the Iowa Department of Agriculture after a processor shuts down

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – In an effort to save taxpayer money, the Iowa Department of Agriculture has killed almost 1.3 million healthy hens over the past nine days.

Depopulation is the last option, according to a statement from the Department of Agriculture.
After Charles City’s Pure Prairie Poultry, a chicken processor, folded suddenly earlier this month, the state was left to decide what would happen to the hens.

Following the closure of Pure Prairie Poultry, 13 farms with 1.3 million hens found themselves without a chicken processor to which they could ship their birds.

While searching for a new processor to sell them to, the Department of Agriculture began caring for those birds. In a news release, the department stated that it had located a processor for the birds; however, the buyer eventually withdrew from the agreement.

In order to reduce the growing expense of caring for the animals, the department claimed it was unable to locate any alternative processors and was granted permission by an emergency court to kill the chickens.

The birds are currently being disposed of by the farms via composting.

Farmers impacted by the closing of Pure Prairie Poultry estimate that they could lose more than $100,000.

According to the AG, efforts will be made to recover taxpayer expenses.