WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. – More than 160 animals were rescued from a Middle Tennessee home on April 6 from what officials described as horrific conditions.
According to Animal Rescue Corps, a national nonprofit animal protection organization, 59 dogs, three cats, two turkeys, two rabbits and more than 100 chickens were found living on a property in Shop Springs, located east of Nashville, WZTV reported. Some of the animals were found outside in kennels that had not been cleaned, the television station reported.
“I think this is one of the worst we’ve worked in Wilson County,” Michael Cunningham, a spokesperson for Animal Rescue Corps, told The Tennessean.
In a Facebook post, Animal Rescue Corps said some of the dogs included poodle mixes and dachshunds.
Many of the dogs were suffering from various medical conditions including high ammonia exposure, severe matting, puncture wounds, mammary tumors, overgrown nails, pressure wounds, skin inflammation and infections, according to WSMV-TV. Some of the dogs also had infections in their eyes and ears and were suffering from parasites, the television station reported.
“This is systemic, this is intentional, and this is for profit,” Cunningham told WKRN-TV. “The animals are found in very small travel crates, multiple animals in each one.”
According to WSMV, many of the chickens, which were being raised and sold for slaughter, were underweight and suffering from injuries associated with overcrowding.
“This is some of the worst matting we’ve seen on any animal,” Tim Woodward, the executive director of Animal Rescue Corps, said in a statement. “Baseball-sized clumps of waste are hanging from their ears and legs to where they can hardly walk. Several of the dogs were living crammed three to a cage and with no way to escape from feces and urine.”
The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the seizure, spokesperson Capt. Scott Moore told The Tennessean. The sheriff’s office will review the case to determine if charges are warranted, Moore said.
The dogs and cats were transported to Animal Rescue Corps’ emergency shelter in Gallatin, Tennessee, according to the newspaper.
