SUNRISE, Fla. – Authorities and animal advocates rescued more than a hundred abandoned animals from a field in Sunrise on Thursday. Many of them were malnourished and in need of medical care.
The Animal Recovery Mission, a non-profit dedicated to saving abused and neglected animals, shared a video showing chickens, cows goats and dogs living in dire conditions.
"Many of these animals are going for ritualistic ceremonies," said Richard Cuoto, of the Animal Recovery Mission.
Cuoto said he received a tip leading him to a grassy area east of the Sawgrass Expressway and South of Commercial Boulevard. At least two goats were found dead and three others were spotted inside a trailer with barely any water and food.
A baby goat was "covered in lice and he’s basically starving to death, so his gums are very pale, so he was very weak and we’re trying to give him some fluids the best way that we can right now," said Jodi Thannul, a veterinarian.
A man on the property said he was building a shed and had no idea where the owner of the animals or the property was, but that the animals were being looked after. Cuoto said the animals were completely emaciated and were living in "horrid, dirty conditions."