ARLINGTON, Texas — Another 1,000 animals seized from a north Arlington exotic pet dealer last week have died, in addition to 600 found dead at the facility, according to testimony Monday in Arlington Municipal Court.
In the second day of an administrative hearing to determine custody of the animals, experts testified that the more than 26,000 animals housed there lacked food and water, medical care and appropriate environments.
And the company's handful of employees would not have been able to care for that number of animals, two veterinarians said.
Such conditions amount to cruelty, they said.
"It is my understanding there were three people taking care of over 26,000 animals. This is completely impossible. There isn't time in a 24-hour day to do that," said Dr. Janet Martin, one of the vets brought in by the city to care for the seized animals.
Martin, who oversees care for the mammals taken from U.S. Global Exotics, said five wallabies at the facility were loose in a room where bedding material had been thrown on a tile floor. The room was filled with feces and flies, Martin said. The only food in the room was moldy carrots.
Martin also said that all of the animals tested so far had parasite infestations.
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