Strong Island Animal Rescue League on Sunday was finally able to get inside a condemned house in Rocky Point they say is overrun with hundreds of rats.
“There's a lot of injuries,” rescuer Erica Kutzing said. “Probably a result of fighting which you see with the overcrowding situations. They've got mites on their skin, so a lot of them have patches of fur that's missing...There are quite a few rats inside that don't have either working eyes. So, they're blind in there.”
Video from inside shows rats swarming through the house, living in the walls, and trying to survive in sickening conditions.
Kutzing said the community has been coming together to help from across the country. However, they still need volunteers to donate money, adopt, foster, and transport the rats.
She also said they’ve took 36 rats out of the house as of Sunday night. She added that they’re working on a rescue mission for the rest next week.
“I wish help had come sooner,” Kutzing said. “It's shocking to know that people were living in there.”
Police arrested homeowner Lori Curley last weekend. She was charged with animal cruelty, two counts of neglect, and endangering the welfare of a child.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges.