A 56-year-old New Jersey man has been indicted on a litany of animal cruelty charges stemming from an investigation where authorities allegedly removed 157 cats and three dogs from his home last year, officials said Thursday.
The Brick Township homeowner was indicted by an Ocean County grand jury over the events from May 4, 2023.
On that date, he called Brick Township Police for help removing animals from his home. Responding officers found hordes of cats and a few dogs. They were removed over the course of 24 hours and transferred for treatment and evaluation. At the time, the homeowner was charged with failure to provide care for a living animal or creature.
A month later, prosecutors and police got the final vet reports about the animals that had been removed. It said 25 cats had to be euthanized and four suffered serious bodily injury, all allegedly as a result of his insufficient care. He was arrested and subsequently released, in accordance with New Jersey Bail Reform laws.
No other updates were provided on the case Thursday.
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