The Calgary Humane Society announced Wednesday they had seized 40 animals in distress from a large rural property in the city’s southwest.
Officials with the organization began executing a search warrant on the property, with the assistance of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and several other police agencies.
WATCH: Dog owner speaks out about southwest Calgary animal seizure
Calgary Humane Society spokesperson Brad Nichols said the animals taken from the property included dogs, cats, birds and reptiles. They will be treated at the Calgary Humane Society as the investigation continues.
WATCH: Brad Nichols from the Calgary Humane Society says environmental and medical conditions lead to the seizure of 40 animals from a rural property.
He said while the organization isn’t alleging any animals were abused, “certainly there would be some neglect at play.”
“There is the potential for both Animal Protection Act charges and Criminal Code charges to be in play for the animal offences,” Nichols said on Wednesday.
“We just seized the animals yesterday, so we’ll need veterinarian input as well as some further investigation.”
He went on to say there are some behavioural concerns with the animals that were seized.
“I was there on the initial inspection of the land and believed, in fact — due to smells and what I saw — that these animals were absolutely under distress,” Staff Sgt. Guy Baker said.
“In the 31 years that I’ve been a police officer, I’ve not seen such a disgusting and dirty environment to live as humans and also to raise animals.”
WATCH: Brad Nichols from the Calgary Humane Society says so far, the prognosis looks good for animals seized from a southwest Calgary property.
As a result of the initial search, two other warrants have been executed on the property because of the suspicion of other criminality, Baker said.
He also said there appeared to be more than 15 people living on the acreage.
“It’s hard to define the residence… because there was people that we didn’t know about living in sheds, shanties, derelict trailers, three houses – two of which were condemned almost immediately,” he said.
WATCH: Calgary police Staff Sgt. Guy Baker says police have executed two more search warrants since the canvassing of a southwest Calgary property led to the seizure of 40 animals.
In addition to the animals seized, CPS officers seized several weapons, including 20 long rifles, as part of Tuesday’s property search, which involved members from the Tactical Unit, District 8 patrol, the Forensic Crime Scene Unit and HAWCS.
Police said Wednesday that Fred Alberta Brokop is facing 15 weapons-related charges as well as one count of breach of a court order. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 15.
Global News has confirmed Brokop pleaded guilty to two counts of causing an animal distress in February 2017 — in one case involving a female quarter horse named “Strawberry” and in the second case involving ducks.
WATCH: Calgary police Staff Sgt. Guy Baker says the execution of a search warrant on a southwest Calgary property was unique.
At the time, the 56-year-old was given a 10-year prohibition from owning animals. The ban under the Animal Protection Act includes having custody or control of, or living with and boarding of animals.
– With files from Nancy Hixt and Phil Heidenreich