Nearly 300 lab rats, rabbits, other animals removed from Kansas City home
Update: The Star spoke with the owner of the animals late Monday. That story is posted here.
City officials were removing about 300 lab rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, turtles and other animals from a home in Kansas City Monday.
The animals were being removed from a duplex in the 4000 block of Wabash Avenue, according to John Baccala, a spokesman for the Kansas City Neighborhood and Housing Services. City workers were still at the home about 1:30 p.m.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Baccala said. “When someone is in a position like this, we want to get them some help.
“These were not good conditions for any animal to be in,” he said.
Two people live in the duplex, Baccala said.
City workers found the animals in cages packed closely next to each other, with very little room for anyone to move around in the home.
“We have had cases like this before but not to the extreme,” Baccala said. Conditions in the home were “deplorable,” he said. The odor was noticeable outside the home.
Kansas City Fire Department crews arrived at the house to test ammonia levels.
Baccala said officials did not know why the residents were keeping the animals, or when they began collecting them.
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 1:51 PM.
