The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control have said this is one of the largest animal rescue operations in US history.
As reported by the California Post, roughly 400 dogs and 300 cats were saved from a property in Lake Hughes. The operation began after they were tipped off about animals being kept in unsafe conditions.
After they obtained a search warrant on suspicion of "violation of animal welfare laws", over 70 DACC members cooperated to make the rescue.
The animals were originally under the custody of Christine De'Anda of the Rock N Pawz Animal Rescue. Whilst we aren't sure the condition the animals were in, it must've been bad enough for animal control to step in.
Some of the animals required medical care, according to the department. They then went on to explain their next steps. "The animals are currently being triaged on site by veterinary and medical staff", they said. "Those animals requiring emergency medical care will be immediately transported to veterinary hospitals. The others will be transported to DACC animal care centers for further evaluation and care."
The DACC has said that whilst the sheer volume of animals would put strain on their networks, they are working with outside animal groups to accommodate them.
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Who Are Rock N Pawz Rescue?
According to their website, Rock N Pawz are a non-profit adoption agency. Their about page is entitled "Animals Are Our #1 Priority!"
And they really go big on how "compassionate" they are. They say they "have been passionately committed to rescuing, treating, and rehousing animals... with qualified parents who love and adore them."
Their homepage has a video that shows a whole host of animals that have been adopted. But the over 700 animals rescued from their property means there was a lot more to go around.
Their website also features an adoption section that shows a load of animals previously available to be adopted. They're all pretty cute, but we do hope none of them were harmed in any way. It's hard to tell, because the DACC did say "animal welfare laws" were violated.
In any case, we hope all the animals are given safe and loving homes.
