SOUTH HERO — A South Hero woman is facing animal cruelty charges after 80 dead animals were found in her trailer on South Street, the Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.
Ashleigh M. Tillson, 30, is due in Vermont Superior Court in North Hero on Oct. 19, Sheriff Ray Allen said.
Allen said the dead animals included rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, birds and reptiles.
Eight other animals – four lizards, two rabbits, one hedgehog and one chinchilla — were found alive last Thursday, Allen said.
The story was first reported by The Islander newspaper in North Hero.
The landlord reported checking the property and spotted the windows covered with flies, the sheriff’s department said. The tenant had been absent for some time, the sheriff said.
“The landlord entered into the trailer and was overwhelmed by the odor inside,” Allen said in a statement.
The landlord reported seeing numerous animal cages and dead animals inside.
Deputy Sheriff Jason Essinger, South Hero Town Constable Everett Dubuque and Health Officer Anne Zolotas all responded to the scene, the sheriff said.
The Humane Society of Chittenden County removed the dead animals and planned to examine them, Allen said.
The personnel from the various agencies wore respirators and protective clothing to search the trailer for animals with the tenant’s permission.
Allen said there was no electricity and all the windows were closed at the trailer, which is across the road from the South Hero Cemetery.
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