Animal Rescue: 300 Species Including Rabbits and Birds Saved From Hoarder; Danger to Environment, Human Health Explained

Almost 300 animal species including rabbits and birds, among others, from the filthy New York home of a self-help book author, were recently rescued by the authorities.

According to an AP News report, the prosecutor announced that the hoarder has been charged with cruel confinement of animals.

Operation Open Cage began on October 1 when animal control officers who reported a hoarding incident in the Hamlet of Miller Place on Long Island contacted investigators.

Officers who were wearing hazardous material suits discovered 118 rabbits. A total of 150 birds, 15 cats, seven tortoises, three snakes, and a number of mice living among the dirt were surrounded by their own feces and urine and covered with cockroaches.

Cruel Animal Confinement

Fifty-one-year-old Karin Keyes, the owner of the home, was charged with multiple counts of cruel confinement of animals.

Keyes is also the author of a self-published book Journey Into Awareness: Reclaiming Your Life.

Incidentally, teams from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals helped the district attorney's Biological, Environmental and Animal Safety Team and local officers in taking out and transporting the animals to animal welfare organizations for medical care in New York.

According to Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of ASPCA, when the responders at the organization arrived on the property, it was clear that prompt intervention was necessary to eliminate hundreds of neglected animals from the brutal and inhumane conditions they were subjected to and offer them expert care.

Toxic Ammonia Levels

In a statement, Jane Bonner, a Brookhaven Town Council member, said that the level of cruelty, as well as the abhorrent conditions that the animals, were "beyond comprehension."

She added, the appalling neglect that they were obliged to endure cannot be excused or explained in any manner.

The supervising attorney Jed Painter of the district attorney's animal unit said that Keyes got extremely overwhelmed with animals under her care, a similar ABC News report specified.

Painter also said that the conditions of any household that has 300 animals will result in high toxic ammonia levels.

The danger of Animal Hoarding

A Discovery Magazine specified that, not surprisingly, exposure to high ammonia levels and infectious diseases is dangerous to the animals, too.

A study published in 2014 the Veterinary Journal investigated medical records from four large-sale hoarding situations involving cats, ranging from 387 to 697 individuals.

The majority of the cats, about 78 percent, had the respiratory diseases calicivirus or mycoplasma.

The research showed that 88 percent had the viral infection feline enteric coronavirus, and the researchers concluded that rescue teams should get ready for mass treatment of infectious diseases.

Effect on Human Health

Animal waste in a hoarding situation can expose a person to zoonotic diseases if they get to come in contact with animal feces, saliva or insects that transmit diseases from pets to humans.

Essentially, bacterial infections can comprise cat scratch disease, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, campylobacter, and salmonella.

Lastly, parasites like cat tapeworm, cryptosporidiosis, hookworm, giardia, and roundworm can be passed from animals to humans, as well.

Report about this animal rescue is shown on NBC New York's YouTube video below:

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