Iowa sanctuary files federal lawsuit against Mizzou over euthanized sheep

COLUMBIA, Mo. – An animal sanctuary in Iowa is suing Mizzou after claiming the university’s health center wrongly euthanized healthy sheep.

The Iowa Farm Sanctuary filed the lawsuit on Tuesday against the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center.

The animal sanctuary said in the lawsuit that on June 25, 2023, a team of its volunteers arrived at the scene of a trailer crash alongside a Missouri highway and found several “severely” injured sheep.

The volunteers transported the sheep to the University of Missouri-Columbia Veterinary Health Center for treatment.

According to the sanctuary, the health center required a $1,000 pre-treatment deposit. The following day, the sanctuary said they received another request for payment without an update on the sheep’s condition.

The sanctuary said they continually requested information regarding the sheep’s condition but said the health center withheld “crucial” details.

After seeking legal counsel, the sanctuary said they learned the remaining “healthy” sheep had been euthanized the previous week without being informed of the procedure.

FOX 2 reached out to the University of Missouri for their response to the lawsuit.

“We deny that the university is liable for the claims in the lawsuit,” said Travis Zimpfer, Mizzou’s Associate Director of Public Affairs. “We will provide our response to the suit in court as appropriate.”

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