A well-known animal-rights organization has sued an ostrich farm in Kuna over allegations that the business is abusing its birds.
American Ostrich Farms, located outside the city off South Pleasant Valley Road, is one of a couple of hundred farms in the U.S. that breeds ostriches and raises the chicks, selling the meat, feathers, egg shells, oil and other byproducts after slaughter.
The farm was accused by a handful of former employees earlier this year of having poor conditions that caused ostriches to die “in huge numbers,” the Idaho Statesman reported in July.
One of the employees shared photos with the Statesman, including of an ostrich whose foot had split open, revealing the bone, from frostbite it got after snow and freezing water pooled in its enclosure during the winter. Other photos showed maggots and mold growing inside a barn used to raise chicks.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA , lodged a complaint with the Idaho Department of Agriculture in March based on the testimony of multiple workers, including the farm’s former animal husbandry manager, as well as photos of injured birds and unclean or inadequate shelter. A senior investigator with the department conducted two inspections after the allegations surfaced and in May “found no deficiencies in the facility or animal care at this time.” The case was closed.