A house has been condemned after it was found to be overrun with more than 300 pet rats.
The 48-year-old homeowner was arrested when authorities discovered the property was infested with rodents.
Many of them are sick, injured and breeding out of control.
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Rats were seen spilling out of kitchen cabinets and swarming across the floors, while the stench and conditions inside led the home to be officially condemned.
The shocking find was made after sanitation violations were issued for the property in Long Island, New York, US.
Strong Island Animal Rescue volunteers are now racing to capture and save as many of the animals as possible, as reported by Need To Know.
A Strong Island Animal Rescue spokesperson said: “It’s a disaster inside.
“It’s very hard to breathe. You need masks. You need gloves. It’s just a bad situation.
“We got about 150 contained. We have them in separate containers – male, female, sick.
“It’s a very sad situation but we’re doing the best we can with what we have.
“It makes us sad but it also gives us a glimmer of hope that we know that we can get them to safety.”
A vet added: “A lot of them are injured.
“A lot of them have huge wounds.
“Their eyes are coming out. They have big abscesses. We have a few that are going septic.
“Everybody knows rodents reproduce very quickly.
“I personally feel that if they were separated, if you keep the males with the males and the females with the females, none of this could have occurred.”
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