Prosecutors revealed that authorities rescued about 300 rabbits, birds, and other creatures from a filthy residence in New York and accused a self-help book author with inhumane confinement of animals.
"Operation Open Cage" began on October 1 when animal control officers notified detectives about a hoarding issue in the Long Island hamlet of Miller Place, according to the Suffolk County district attorney's office.
Hoarder charged after 300 animals rescued from NY home
(Photo : KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the district attorney, officers wearing hazardous material suits discovered 118 rabbits, 150 birds, 15 cats, seven tortoises, three snakes, and many mice living among filth, many of which were surrounded by their own feces and urine and coated in cockroaches, as per abc News.
Karin Keyes, 51, the home's owner, was charged with seven charges of inhumane confinement of animals.
She is a social worker and the self-published author of "Journey Into Awareness: Reclaiming Your Life."
No information about Keyes' attorney was provided. A message was left at the phone number provided for her.
Teams from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals assisted the district attorney's Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team and local cops in taking the animals and delivering them to animal welfare groups around New York for medical treatment.
When ASPCA rescuers arrived on the scene, it was evident that quick action was required to remove hundreds of neglected animals from the harsh and terrible conditions they were exposed to and give them with skilled care, according to Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of the ASPCA.
In a statement, Brookhaven Town Council member Jane Bonner said, "The amount of brutality and the horrific circumstances that the animals were subjected to are beyond imagination."
The atrocious neglect they were made to undergo cannot be justified or rationalized in any way.
According to Jed Painter, the supervising attorney of the district attorney's animal unit, Keyes became increasingly overwhelmed with the animals in her care.
He went on to say that any household with 300 animals would have deadly ammonia levels.
Read more: Cats and Dogs Rescued at a House in Diamond Bar, Los Angeles Following Reports of Animal Hoarding
What exactly is animal hoarding, and how does it manifest itself?
Animal hoarding is the collection of animals that has outstripped a person's ability to offer basic care. Nutrition, sanitation, housing, veterinary care, and socializing are among the criteria, as per The Animal Humane Society.
In extreme situations, animals may be confined in carriers or cages stacked on top of one another, surrounded by their own urine or feces.
Feces may also coat the floors, furniture, and surfaces. Animals can suffer from major diseases or health problems.
They may be overfed and fat, or they could be famished and emaciated. In the most extreme occurrences, animals are discovered dead.
Cats and dogs are the most typical victims of animal hoarding, although rodents, reptiles, and other animals can also be victims of a hoarding situation.
Hoarding usually starts with a few unsterilized animals.
Breeding may become uncontrollable when kept in tight quarters.
Four cats, for example, may easily increase into hundreds over the course of a few years.
It is critical to understand that animal hoarding is not the same as purposeful breeding. Breeders make a profit by selling animals and acquiring animals.
Hoarders maintain their pets and may be terrified of giving them away, even if properly caring for them has proven difficult.
AHS humane agents open an average of 25 animal hoarding cases each year. In some of these circumstances, animals are confiscated from property with the assistance of law enforcement, but in the majority of cases, animals are surrendered to AHS voluntarily.
Humane agents from AHS play an important role in rescuing animals from hoarding situations, but their job does not end there.
Proper intervention is critical to avoiding relapse, which occurs in 100% of hoarders who do not receive treatment and continuing support.
Related article: Average Animal Hoarder in Spain Keeps 50 Pets, New Study Finds
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