Donauwörth (dpa / lby) – In Swabia, two animal owners are said to have kept numerous goats and sheep as well as a horse under catastrophic hygienic conditions. According to the police, the animals had to stand in dung about 80 centimeters high.

On the farm of the 49 and 62-year-old couple from the Donau-Ries district, the Donauwörth police actually carried out a search on Thursday for other reasons. It was about “that the property owners used the entire courtyard area of ??the agricultural property as a landfill and dumping area for scrap vehicles,” the investigators reported. In addition, the authorities saw a groundwater hazard from the faeces of the animals.

Ultimately, 25 goats and sheep, the horse and nine cats were taken from the farm. The two owners are now being investigated, among other things, on suspicion of violations of the Animal Welfare Act and unauthorized handling of waste.