Deplorable conditions inside a Cumberland County home prompted officials to remove 55 animals from a couple's care.
The Cumberland County SPCA raided the home located along the 500-block of Irving Avenue in Deerfield Township, N.J. Thursday afternoon, officials say.
Inside they found 23 rabbits, 19 cats, six dogs, four birds, one ferret, a guinea pig and a chinchilla living in unsanitary conditions, officials say.
Many of the animals were covered in fleas and waste and were in need of a veterinarian's care. Some even had urine burns on their skin, officials said.
SPCA officials were tipped off to the home after a neighbor complained about a foul stench outside.
The SPCA believes the homeowners -- a couple in their 60s -- were breeding the animals to make extra cash.
"A lot of these animals are pure bred or nearly pure bred and I think they were breeding for a profit or trying to breed for a profit to try and supplement their income," Kellie Scrbeck of the Cumberland County SPCA said.
The couple each face 13 counts of animal cruelty.
Officials say this isn't the first time they've visited this home. A few years ago they conducted another raid and confiscated more than 160 animals from the property.
