Animal groups seek criminal charges over Pure Prairie chicken abandonment

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Two national animal advocacy organizations are asking a Wisconsin prosecutor to file criminal charges against Pure Prairie Poultry, alleging the company abandoned thousands of chickens to starve after its failed bankruptcy attempt and abrupt closure last fall.

In a formal complaint submitted Monday to the Buffalo County District Attorney, Animal Partisan and the Humane Farming Association allege the now-closed poultry processor violated Wisconsin laws prohibiting the deprivation of food and abandonment of animals.

They are seeking 30 misdemeanor charges and $300,000 in fines – one charge for each chicken reportedly found dead of starvation on a Wisconsin farm last September.

The complaint centers on the experience of Terry and Dawn Filla, contract growers near Mondovi, Wisconsin, who raised birds for Pure Prairie Poultry under a production agreement that required the company to provide feed and arrange for transportation.

The Fillas said they received no warning that Pure Prairie Poultry had filed for bankruptcy and failed to pick up a scheduled flock of 24,000 chickens on Sept. 17, 2024.

Feed deliveries also stopped, and by Sept. 28 the bins were empty, they allege.

Despite daily calls to Pure Prairie Poultry, the Fillas received no feed or help, and by Oct. 7 – the next promised pickup date – the flock had gone 19 days without food, the complaint says.

The farmers were unable to legally sell the company-owned birds and eventually gave the survivors away to prevent further suffering.

According to the complaint, dozens of chickens died each day during the final week.

Pure Prairie Poultry then-president and CEO Brian Roelofs reportedly admitted to Wisconsin officials that the company had not paid its feed suppliers and could not make further deliveries, the complaint says.

The complaint says Pure Prairie Poultry’s actions were both intentional and negligent, and that bankruptcy does not exempt a corporation from animal welfare laws.

Although the charges focus on one flock in Wisconsin, the groups say the incident was part of a broader collapse that affected 11 Wisconsin flocks totaling more than 475,000 birds.

In Iowa, where the company operated its Charles City plant and was based before closing, more than 1.3 million chickens had to be euthanized on many grower farms contracted with the company, and dozens of growers were left with unpaid bills and empty barns.

Pure Prairie Poultry was launched in 2022 with plans to market premium quality air-chilled and antibiotics-free chicken and had received a $38.7 million loan guarantee through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The company ceased operations in October 2024 after a bankruptcy petition was dismissed and emergency financing efforts failed.

In their release, the animal groups said criminal prosecution is necessary to hold Pure Prairie Poultry accountable and to deter future cruelty by industrial poultry companies.

The Charles City plant and related assets were sold in early June through a credit bid to Community Bank & Trust of West Georgia – a lender and creditor.

The bank tendered approximately $25.7 million in forgiveness of outstanding debt through a court-supervised receivership under Minnesota’s “assignment for the benefit of creditors” law.