THOUSAND OAKS : Birds, Rabbits Seized by Humane Society

Dozens of birds and rabbits have been seized from a ranch in eastern Ventura County after officials from the Humane Society found the animals living in filth and without enough to drink.

Eighteen birds and 11 rabbits were impounded from a one-acre farm on Yerba Buena Road near the Los Angeles County line, said Jolene Hoffman, the director of the Humane Society’s animal shelter. It was the second time in two weeks that county officials confiscated neglected animals.

“It was just disgusting. The rabbits were sitting in cages filled with their own waste,” Hoffman said of the most recent incident.

The birds--parakeets, canaries and button quail--were without water and were living in cages that “looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in about a year,” Hoffman said.

Other animals on the farm, including a horse, a sheep, eight dogs, 10 cats and about 40 ducks and geese, were left behind with the owner because their condition was not as severe, Hoffman said.

The owner of the ranch, a Malibu resident whom officials declined to identify, will work with a veterinarian on the care and feeding of the animals, Hoffman said. In return, the Humane Society agreed not to file charges of animal abuse and neglect.

“If she doesn’t clean that place up, we still have a year to change our minds,” Hoffman said. The Humane Society will inspect the ranch weekly, she said.

Inspectors from the Humane Society visited the ranch Friday after receiving an anonymous complaint about conditions there, Hoffman said. The animals were seized Monday after the owner failed to meet the deadline for cleaning up the farm.

“She had far too many animals than she could care for,” Hoffman said.

Meanwhile, donations for more than 100 animals rescued from a Piru Ranch last week continued to flood the Humane Society’s Ojai office.

Forty-two bales of hay donated by area residents were delivered to the shelter Tuesday.

The animals included seven horses, 69 rabbits, 34 sheep, three dogs, a cat, and a cockatiel were taken by Humane Society officials Thursday from a two-acre ranch on Piru Canyon Road.