EDGEWATER, Fla. (AP/CNN) — Police in Florida removed three children and 245 animals from a home after a wellness check.
An Edgewater police statement says it was “immediately evident neither the children, nor the animals were being cared for properly.”
Officers said the 8-, 9-, and 10-year-old children were living with three adults amid rotting food, animal feces and urine.
Investigators counted 95 mice, 60 rats, 23 baby rats, 14 birds, 12 rabbits, 10 flying opossums, nine guinea pigs, seven bearded dragons, four dogs, four hamsters, two cats, two geckos, a tortoise and a hedgehog. Another guinea pig was dead.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports the adults will be charged with three counts of child abuse and 66 counts of animal cruelty. The children were placed with relatives.