An Arizona man faces charges of animal cruelty after 183 dead dogs, rabbits, birds and other animals were found in a freezer, including some that were apparently frozen while alive, officials said.
Mojave County lawmakers and animal welfare officials found the animals in a freezer in a garage on April 3rd after a woman said 43-year-old Michael Patrick Thurland had not returned snakes she had lent him for breeding, the sheriff’s office said. on Thursday in a statement. The freezer was in a home Tarland had previously rented in Golden Valley, a rural community in far western Arizona.
Frozen animals include dogs, turtles, lizards, birds, snakes, mice, rats and rabbits, the statement said. “Several of the animals looked frozen alive due to the position of their bodies. The sheriff’s office said they were being held in a “large chest freezer.”
The owner of the home reportedly found the frozen animals while cleaning up after Thurland and his wife left the property. The owner then contacted the woman, who notified the sheriff’s office, the statement said.
Turland was arrested at his home on Wednesday when lawmakers were told he had returned to the property, the office said.
“When interviewed, Thurland eventually admitted that he put some of the animals in the freezer while they were still alive,” the statement said.
Court records do not specify a lawyer who could comment on behalf of Turland, who was arrested on 94 counts of animal cruelty.
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