30,000 Mice Discovered In Metro Barn

[Lisa]

from http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/2174809/detail.html


Owner Of Barn Arrested

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City police responding to complaints of a foul odor coming from a barn found mice -- thousands of mice.

Officers said they found about 30,000 mice, and some snakes in the barn in the southern part of the city.


Police would not release the name of the barn's owner, but animal control officials said they will ask prosecutors to file charges.

"This building is completely full -- there's very little room to even walk around in there," said Steve Lira of Oklahoma City Animal Control.

He could face three misdemeanor charges, police said.

Authorities believe the man was raising the mice to sell as food for snakes. Nearby neighbors said the stench from the barn was unbearable.

"Massive odor, and that just blows my mind knowing that there are 30,000 mice (in there)," said Cecil Carpenter, who lives nearby.

Carpenter said nearby residents complained for months, but nothing was done.

"It was terrible," he said.


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Just think, with that many mice we could afford to feed even more snakes. :)

[Leo-Land]

Haha.. What is he being charged with? Maybe all them mice went in there by themselves!

I would plead ignorance to the mice if that was me!

[Shane Tesser]

ouch..thats sickening

[nicola_boulton]

urrr gross. But i thought mice lived in barns?

[marisa]

I am sure mice DO live in barns.

But I am also sure this person was in over his head with feeder breeding and reptiles. That happens to some people. They start out wanting to help a few kittens and soon enough they have 657 cats crapping and pissing all over their home. Same with reptiles. Some people get one and think the care is "so easy" and they don't stop getting more and more and more and soon enough they are over run. Normal people would stop at that point, but others like this guy keep going because the thought of telling people you can't handle it anymore or someone taking them away is worse than doing whats right.

How sick.

Marisa

[RachelS.]

That is pretty nasty. Imagine the smell... ugh... yuck... *pukes*

I don't even wanna think about it

[gonesnakee]

JUST MORE NEGATIVE PUBLICITY FOR US HERPERS. DOH! MARK I.

[KrokadilyanGuy3]

Heh, that guy lives several minutes from me. Don't know him personally, but A few guys I know was telling me about this ( they know him) and all the mice were in cages and tanks, and were as clean as most people could keep clean. I mean, my rodent house is as clean as I can keep it but it stinks. Now if all I hear from reliable sources is true then there shouldnt be any fines placed because I wasn't aware we had laws on certain mice limits and if the stintch is the factor than These dumps and a few people I know need to be fined as well. (most of the dumps are near quite a bit of homes and the smell doesn't strike my fancy just driving by.)
Xain

[Linds]

I am not sure on this, but I think that mice are considered a pest in the city limits so a breeding operation - no matter how clean - is still illegal in many places...

[aqua_demon]

Thats stupid if somone wants to keep 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 mice they should be able to thats their business and as for the stench i agree with Kroka go fine the dumps a ppl that dont bathe if they dont then they have no right to touch this man.

[Lisa]

Originally posted by aqua_demon
Thats stupid if somone wants to keep 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 mice they should be able to thats their business and as for the stench i agree with Kroka go fine the dumps a ppl that dont bathe if they dont then they have no right to touch this man.

actually, if he's breaking the law and or infringing on other peoples rights then yes he can be charged etc. if the animals are kept in inhumane conditions then yes, he can be charged. You do not have the right to do what ever you want.

[Nanashi04]

Personally, I'm not a big fan of mice... Sure, I'll use them as feeders, if that's what it calls for... and they are kinda cute. My cat eas them a lot. It's kind fun to watch her hunt... but other than that, I wouldn't ever keep quite that many. Gerbils are kinda cute...

[snakelover111]

yah i know i used to live in oklahoma

[unknownclown]

well from what I seen it didnt look that bad the tubs they were taking out didnt seem over crowded and the mice looked healthy. Of course I didnt get to see the whole place or smell the stench neither. Personally I think there shoud be some sorta standard as far as air filtering is concerned. Maybe if he had used some sorta siding instead of wooden walls also it woulda been easier to clean and the stench wouldnt sink in. From what I seen I dont think there should be charges put on the guy but fines for not accomodating to the odor that amount of mice can produce and inconsideration to his neighbors.

[Lizzy001]

lol..really!

[jncoclub]

http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/May03/050503/wn01.htm
In the link it says :
"This thing (farm) was illegal," Lira said, adding that a person can raise rodents if he or she has the proper equipment and the proper forms and zoning, but the mouse ranch did not meet any of those standards.

Police charged Steven Burgess, 44, of Oklahoma City, with three misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty in connection with the unsanitary and unhealthy conditions in which the mice were kept."

If the guy didn't do it properly, then he should get in trouble. Can youpicture beinghis neighbor? Ehhh.

[Lizzy001]

lol!!....we all know where he came from then!

[Lisa]

Exactly, if they're kept in inhumane conditions then the guy should be charged. What really sucks is now the city is stuck with the mice cause the guy doesn't want to deal with them.