On October 23, 2002, Kyle Alan Sloan and Kevin Andrew Sloan beat to death 100 turkeys at Woodland Farms in Story County, Iowa. The men have been charged with burglary, criminal mischief, and the Class D Felony offense of having knowingly injured and willfully destroyed the birds by an act of violence. Because the Class D Felony charge addresses this crime from the standpoint of property damage rather than animal cruelty, we are urging the Story County prosecutor to include the charge of Livestock Abuse. A Livestock Abuser is defined under Iowa law as a "person [who] injures or destroys livestock owned by another person, in any manner. . . .A person guilty of livestock abuse commits an aggravated misdemeanor."

Please write to the Story County District Attorney and ask him to file livestock abuse charges against Kevin and Kyle Sloan. Remind him that the court must recognize the true victims of this vicious crime-the turkeys who were beaten to death.