2 UT employees investigated in animal cruelty case
Couple in Caldwell work for university’s Animal Resources arm.
Two University of Texas employees are the focus of an animal cruelty investigation that led to the discovery of hundreds of animals at a Caldwell County home this week.
About 430 animals — including dozens of snakes, pigs, dogs and goats — were taken from a home in the 100 block of Misty Drive in Uhland after investigators found them living in deplorable conditions Monday.
Sheriff Daniel Law on Thursday identified the couple who lived in the house as Joseph Flores and Sarah Arevalo.
Flores and Arevalo work at UT’s Animal Resources Center, university spokesman J.B. Bird told the American-Statesman. He said both have been placed on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation.
UT President Gregory L. Fenves “is going to call for an outside review of the Animal Resources Center to ensure all safety and care guidelines have been followed,” Bird said.
Bird also said there has been no indication that any of the universi-
ty’s animals, which are used for research, are missing.
The Animal Resources Center provides daily care for about 14,500 research animals, of which nearly all are rodents.
According to Law, the case resulted in one of the largest animal seizures Caldwell County has ever seen, and without the help of the Dallas-based SPCA of Texas, he’s not sure how he could have taken care of the animals, which included:
86 snakes
28 dogs
26 rabbits
15 goats
9 pigs
267 other anima ls, including guinea pigs, ferrets, skinks, bearded dragons, geckos, gerbils, tarantu- las, turtles, tortoises, mice, rats, doves, pigeons, ducks and turkeys.
The SPCA is housing and caring for the animals that were taken from the prop erty, the sheriff ’s office said.
“If it had not been for them, there’s no telling what we would have done,” Law said. “We have no capability of keeping track of this wide array of animals, or even caring for them. And I don’t know of anyone in this area that could have cared for this number of animals.”
Law said the discovery of the animals was “disturbing” and that ammonia levels from all the animal waste in the house were dangerously high. An investigator with the sheriff ’s office said the stench inside the house forced even seasoned investigators outside several times.
While the animals weren’t being kept properly, Law said the species were in separate containers.
Investigators are still trying to figure out why so many animals were being kept.
“Right now, it’s still an ongoing investigation,” he said.
Law said he is confident that criminal charges will be filed, but on Thursday he wasn’t sure exactly what they would be.