More than 250 small animals sent to Arizona for adoption may have been fed to reptiles

The Humane Society of Southern Arizona announced on Thursday in a joint statement with their San Diego counterpart that approximately 250 small animals that were transferred to Arizona may have ended up being fed to reptiles.

An investigation started after 300 small animals were transferred from the overcrowded San Diego Humane Society to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona in Tucson in August. The transfer was in collaboration between the two groups before the latter gave the animals to a man named Colten Jones.

The two Humane Societies allege that Jones was running a reptile breeding company called The Fertile Turtle, which included selling both live and frozen animals for reptile feed.

Of all the animals given to Jones, he ended up returning 62 back to the Tucson-based humane society, leaving 250 rabbits, guinea pigs, rats and mice to an unknown fate.

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The Humane Society of Southern Arizona had previously received assistance caring for animals from Jones who took in snakes and rabbits. The organization stated it is now considering legal actions against Jones and former unnamed employees at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.

The humane societies recently acquired text messages that detailed Jones seeking help to process a high number of guinea pigs and rabbits for food in the immediate days after receiving the animals, according to the statement.

“We could not have conceived something like this happening in connection with our organization,” said Humane Society of Southern Arizona board chair, Robert Garcia in a Thursday press conference.

“I’m heartbroken for the animals, I’m heartbroken for our community, I’m heartbroken for our organization whose mission it is to protect and save animals,” he added.

Garcia said Jones reached out to Humane Society of Southern Arizona investigators on Wednesday and denied the allegations. An internal investigation remains underway and awaits a completed report expected in December, while the San Diego Humane Society’s investigation remains ongoing.

In early October, the Humane Society of Southern Arizona fired CEO Steve Farley and accepted the resignation of chief operating officer, Christian Gonzalez.

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Farley actively denied involvement in the transportation of the animals in an October article published in The Arizona Republic.

Garcia said the parting of ways with Farley — who served 12 years in the Arizona Legislature and made bids for governor and Tucson mayor — and Chief Operating Officer Christian Gonzalez was the result of “terribly negligent actions” that go against the organization’s mission and “their failure to follow protocols, among other reasons.”

The joint statement requested that anyone with information to contact the Tucson Police Department (520-882-7463) and reference case #P2311020076.

The Arizona Republic’s Sarah Lapidus contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Humane Society of Southern Arizona update status of over 300 animals