500 exotic animals — from geckos to birds to snakes — rescued from one Nebraska home
An anonymous tip led to a Humane Society in Nebraska doubling their guest list.
Over 500 animals were rescued from one home, the Nebraska Humane Society announced in a Dec. 21 post. Some of the animals were exotic or rare, and included birds, reptiles, guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas and more.
A majority of the animals were birds and reptiles. Three dogs were found in the home as well, a spokesperson said in a news conference.
Animals showing “signs of neglect” were taken from the unsanitary home, the spokesperson said. Some animals were dehydrated and had injuries, and at least a dozen of the animals had to be euthanized due to their state of neglect.
“The conditions were extremely unsanitary, feces and urine throughout the house, many animals did not have food or water. There were also some deceased animals in the home,” the spokesperson told news outlets.
But about a day after the rescue, some of the animals are beginning to feel better.
“A lot of these guys are starting to get more relaxed,” the spokesperson said of the animals.
The Omaha shelter took in all 500 animals from the Papillon home, and are now asking for donations to shoulder the new mouths to feed, medicate and house. People in Nebraska can sign up to foster some of the animals as well.
“When these animals arrived at NHS, our workload doubled. Suddenly we have 500 more pets to care for. We can’t do it alone,” the humane society said in a tweet.
Staff at the shelter are still working to identify the various species of animals.
The humane society said they do not have legal sway, and can only recommend charges against the person who kept the animals.
The humane society said they were “blown away” from the community support they’ve received.
“Seeing our community rally behind these animals to give them a second chance helps validate the round-the-clock care that is happening right now,” the post said. “This is obviously a situation that is painful to muster, but you are turning it into something near miraculous.”
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