Nearly 2000 animals were found in a warehouse in Montclair, a suburb of Los Angeles, on August 4. A great number of them were dead.
Source: ABC News
The animals included chickens and a number of exotic animals such as birds, fish and even reptiles. Over the last few years, the owner seemed to have been selling the creatures and had even moved into the storage unit, but neighbors said that they had recently started to smell excrement and rotting meat coming from it.
Source: AP
Silvia Lemus and John Minook, members of the Inland Valley Humane Society who were on the scene of the discovery, said:
This is the worst that I've ever seen in my nine years with the organization.There were cages with dead animals, who had no ventilation, animals living in excrement and among the bodies of the dead ones. There were chicks, rats, a chameleon, snakes... The smell was unbearable because of the filth, the decomposing corpses and the heat.
The owner of the warehouse, a man in his fifties, had been arrested for an outstanding warrant, which wasn't connected to the discovery. The Humane Society is pursuing charges for felony animal cruelty and negligence.
Source: ABC News
The surviving animals have been taken in by the association, who will keep them until the end of the investigation. Because of the number of chickens and chicks found, they have started to build a new enclosure for them, so that they can have enough space to roam and grow.
Source: ABC News
Although most of the 2000 animals should recover, the volunteers estimate that around 250 are dead, if not more.If you would like to support the work that the Inland Valley Humane Society does, you can visit their website to find out how you can volunteer or donate.
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