Sixty-two animals were seized from a property in Dudley on Friday, according to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The animals included chickens, ducks, geese, cats, dogs, parrots, ferrets, horses, rabbits, turtles, pigs, and goats, said Sara-Rose Brenner, a spokesperson for MSPCA-Angell.
MSPCA-Angell officials were initially called to the property a few months ago to investigate reports of horses that were allegedly in “poor physical condition and living in unsanitary conditions,” according to Chris Schindler, MSPCA-Angell’s law enforcement director.
“Upon opening an investigation, we discovered dozens of animals, including horses, were living there in unsanitary conditions, some without adequate access to food and water,” Schindler said in a statement. “Unfortunately, despite our officers’ efforts, the property owner did not come into compliance or provide the animals with the care and sanitary environment they needed, so on Friday [November 14] we executed a search warrant and seized over 60 animals from the home.”
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The animals have been undergoing medical evaluations and are settling into their new care settings, Schindler said.
“Obviously, this kind of large operation puts an immense strain on our own capacity, but these animals needed help and we knew we had to pull out all the stops to get it for them,” Schindler said in the statement.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.
