A Michigan man is facing animal cruelty charges after 183 animals were allegedly found dead in his freezer, police said.
Michael Patrick Turland, 43, of Central Lake, is charged with 94 counts of felony animal cruelty in Arizona after sheriff’s deputies responded to a request for an animal welfare check, police said. They found 183 dead dogs, turtles, lizards, birds, snakes, mice, rats and rabbits in a freezer. It appears that some of them were still alive when they were put in the freezer, police said.
On April 3, Mohave County sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence in Golden Valley, Ariz., for an animal welfare check. The complainant reported that dead animals had been found inside a freezer in the garage. The complainant believed her snakes, which she had allowed Turland to breed, were among the dead animals, police said. According to the complainant, Turland had agreed to return the snakes after breeding them but had become unreachable.
The complainant had been contacted by the owner of the home where Turland and his wife had lived, police said. The landlord told her that Turland had moved out of state, and that while cleaning the property, a freezer full of dead animals had been found in the garage.
Upon arrival, deputies and animal control officers found the freezer with 183 dead dogs, turtles, lizards, birds, snakes, mice, rats, and rabbits. The body positioning of several of the animals suggested that they were frozen alive, police said.
Deputies attempted to contact Turland by phone but there was no response.
At 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13, deputies were notified that Turland had returned to the Golden Valley residence, police said. Deputies responded to the scene and arrested Turland without incident.
“When interviewed, Turland eventually admitted to placing some of the animals in the freezer when they were still alive,” police said.
Turland is being held at the Mohave County Adult Detention Facility in Kingman, Ariz.
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